Hazelwood East senior Nolan Ebbinghaus received one of four $1,500 John Hindrich’s scholarships, awarded by the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America (PDCA), during its national banquet.
“My father’s boss nominated me for it,” he said. He added that he had to write an essay and submit letters of recommendation to Dan Weinstroer, who is the executive director of the PDCA. “A few months went by and they notified me I had won.”
Weinstroer commented on Ebbinghaus’ dual enrollment at Hazelwood East and St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley, his high GPA, leadership skills and community involvement.
“I think of myself as a peer leader,” Ebbinghaus said. “I try not to be mean to anyone. When I was a freshman, I admired all of the seniors who were nice to me and others. I thought they were so cool. I would say, ‘hi’ to them and they would say ‘hi’ back. Yet I don’t try to follow the crowd in all aspects.”
He has whittled his college choices down to Southeastern Missouri State University or the University of Missouri-Columbia and he said he either wants to major in criminal psychology or music audio production. Real estate also catches his eye.
“My father taught me how to paint walls, so I may buy and sell homes later,” he said.
As graduation edges closer, Nolan said he does not let the pressure or the decision-making get to him. “It seems like the days are just speeding up but I am just living day-by-day these days. I just do what I need to do. If you get caught up in the past or in the future, you end up veering off somewhere else.”