Kelly Walsh grad Michael Baker competes nationally in electrical trades at SkillsUSA

Recent Kelly Walsh High School graduate Michael Baker stands in front of the electrical trades testing area at the 2025 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, held in Atlanta. Baker competed in the high school electrical construction wiring category, where students had six hours to bend conduit, install junction boxes, run flexible conduit, set receptacles, and wire an electrical panel.

Michael Baker learned the basics of electrical work the way many young people do — helping his dad around the house. Together, they rewired their garage and tackled other home projects that gave Baker hands-on experience long before he ever stepped into a classroom.

That foundation served him well last month when the recent Kelly Walsh High School graduate placed 43rd in the nation at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta. Baker’s path to nationals started at the Pathways Innovation Center, where he enrolled in the first two classes of Casper College’s eight-course electrical apprenticeship program while finishing his senior year. It was the first time these courses were offered at Natrona County School District’s Pathways Innovation Center, part of a new partnership between the center and Casper College aimed at giving high school students a head start on career and technical education.

Baker competed in the high school electrical construction wiring category, where students had six hours to bend conduit, install junction boxes, run flexible conduit, set receptacles, and wire an electrical panel.

“Michael worked hard and studied hard,” said Jason Eggemeyer, one of his instructors at Casper College. “He won our state contest, and we were proud to have him represent Wyoming in the high school category at nationals,” said Eggemeyer, engineering technology and design instructor. According to Eggemeyer, the competition was fierce. “Many of these students came from CTE-focused high schools where they train over six hours a day in the trades. I’m excited to see Michael compete next year in the college-level category,” he noted.

Currently working at Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply, Baker plans to begin full-time work with a local electrical contractor once he turns 18 this summer. He’s already well on his way to becoming a journeyman electrician, thanks to that early start at PIC and the solid foundation he built working alongside his father.

Baker’s success represents exactly what Casper College and Pathways Innovation Center hoped to achieve with their partnership — giving students like Baker the chance to explore skilled trades and get a competitive edge before they even graduate high school.