Success Stories

St. Anthony Village Woman Finds Her Purpose in Pipefitting For Amanda Gardas, college or the military weren’t the answers. And then she found pipefitting. In her senior year at St. Anthony Village High School, Amanda Gardas applied to attend the Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC). Not out of any particular desire to continue her […]

MN Trades Academy Interns Build a Home, Make Friends of a Lifetime For some students, high school is about going to pep rallies, studying for exams and getting a diploma. For others, such as Ahleah Harris and Halle Arneson, high school is so much more. They are both involved in the Minnesota Trades Academy, a […]

Learning a new trade is no walk in the park. And Helen Spindler knows that better than anybody. After leaving Tanzania for America, she took her career in a completely different direction. And, while taking care of her family and building a future in construction, Helen is challenging traditional expectations for women and breaking down […]

A job is never just a job. We get jobs to support families and pay bills. We learn new skills, and learn how to provide value to our employers and our customers. We meet new people – coworkers who become our friends or, maybe even become spouse. We contribute to our community and to our […]

There are many paths to success. For some, that choice is clear-cut: take on some student loans, get a degree, and work from a desk. For others, that means joining the military and serving the country. Sometimes, this path might end up being a mash-up of experiences to find out what works and what doesn’t. […]

Hands-on, paid summer internship experience in the Minnesota Trades Academy helps students learn about construction career choices Some high school students definitely know they want to go to college. Others, the military. But there are many students who don’t know exactly what they want to do. They do know that they want something different. For […]