In this episode, we chat with Mikayla Hannesschlager, gold medalist in Bricklaying at the 2025 Provincial Skills Canada Competition and proud member of Team Alberta at the 2025 Skills Canada National Competition in Regina. Mikayla shares her journey into the skilled trades, growing up in a family of bricklayers and finding her own path in refractory work—carving a unique space in a field where her family specializes in red brick.

She opens up about the training and mentorship that shaped her success, the importance of having women role models in the trades, and how confidence plays a key role in both competition and career. Mikayla also offers practical advice for anyone looking to explore bricklaying or step into the competition world.

Plus, she gives us a look ahead at her next big challenge: representing Canada at a union bricklaying competition this fall in Detroit!