Andrew Schultze Memorial Scholarship

1. I am interested in pursuing a career in the HVAC field because I believe the industry and the world as a whole has a need for more environmentally friendly and sustainable approach, and I would like to be at the forefront of the solution. because I have always worked well with my hands and HVAC has always interested me. Especially the refrigeration cycle. It seems to make sense to me, and I am excited to learn how technology is advancing, and what I may be able to do to help improve systems and designs to maximize/increase green energy sources. I believe developing a more sustainable and energy efficient system is paramount. My goal is to pursue a bachelors degree in Energy Management and Design systems in order to best maximize my opportunity to help the world. 2. A major obstacle I have had to overcome is by going back to school as an adult student and single father with full custody of my daughter. Having to balance home/financial and school life has proven to be difficult without having a strong support structure. I've worked hard to achieve high grades in my courses while balancing time with my daughter. Understanding how important it is to take my education seriously if I want to succeed and being able to support my daughter and give her the best life I can has driven me to my success this far. During this time as well, I have had a family member fall ill, and I acted as their primary care giver by moving them into my home to give them a comfortable place to live their final days, as well as helped them attend all of their doctors, and coordinated with their insurance company. Additionally, I moved into a home that needed substantial repair work that needed to be done in order to provide a safe comfortable environment for myself and my daughter, which had taken substantial time and money to complete. Through all this, I remained persistent and determined to complete my educational career - I was able to complete an online associates degree in individual studies (with plans of completing a bachelors in the near future in HVAC Design/Energy Management at Ferris State University). Now, it’s time to complete my senior year for the HVAC program (in person). Unfortunately, I have used all my available state/federal funds/loans up to this point, and this has left me shy of much needed money to complete this final semester. 3. If a boss was reviewing my performance, I believe they would say I am a driven, professional employee who does not compromise on integrity or safety standards. I take my job and my work very seriously, and understand the need to have constructive and reliable employees in order to help facilitate a productive and profitable company.

I am interested in pursuing the HVAC field as I come from a line of HVAC technicians who worked for several years each in similar fields to make money for themselves in their families. I got lucky and was employed at Quogue Sinclair Fuels where I fell in love with the handy-work and technical aspects of repairing, installing, and maintaining HVAC equipment. I had started slow with filling propane tanks, to slowly learning more by watching videos on how to handle them, moving up to RVs and even larger tanks such as forklift tanks and 30' pounders. Making it past that I learned how to fill bobtails and dispense propane safely in nearly every manner, filling commercial tanks, residential tanks, and even filling tanks for deliveries. I went out on ride-along with our technicians over the long summer and truly realized my passion for this career, I was able to slowly, but surely service boilers and burners, mainly oil and assist technicians like never before. I had to overcome my mental disability and my strong medication use that halted my educational and physical progress for many years, battling myself for control of my body and mind with high doses of varying medications and behavioral therapies alongside years of educational blocks with un-needed special education classes. For most of my childhood, I was too heavily medicated to engage with other people, including my family and teachers. I had frequent outbursts and was extremely fragile and emotional in reaction with my day-to-day life. It was when I was around 14 that I tried to turn my life around by looking in the mirror and realizing that there was more to life then I would ever come to know. I began to cut off my medication and forced my teachers and school staff to treat me as a normal student, and to drop all my special-education requirements and classes so I could begin to live life in a new way. By 16 I was a different person completely off medication and near acing all my classes compared to the dullness of my previous schooling years. By 17 I was on the Board of Education as an ex-officio member and worked a part-time job that led to this career. If one of my bosses were to review my performance, they would certainly say that I am reliable, get things done and is consistently willing to assist and learn in any way possible. Over my almost a year of employment I have demonstrated excellence and proficiency in nearly every regard. I have not yet disappointed my colleagues or management and have only surprised and been encouraged by them to continue onwards.

1) I come from a long family lineage of skilled trade workers. My grandfather, father, uncle and great uncle are all in the HVAC industry. I was given the opportunity to learn and work with my hands from a young age. From assisting in cleaning and working on furnaces to learning about installation and maintaining HVAC units, I fell in love with trouble shooting and being able to be “the guy” that can get things working. I have worked on units in our own home as well as worked on units in our community and assisted my dad on jobs in the field. I have been able to meet and talk to others in the field and have always been inspired to pursue a career in HVAC. This past summer I also worked for a HVAC distribution center. It gave me insight into what goes into a job and gave me an opportunity to interact with contractors. It seemed to be a field where I belonged. Recently the small town I live in Speedsville, NY was selected by Egg Geothermal to be a trial area for a community thermo energy network (TEN). A community geothermal system would provide heating and cooling for about 35-40 residents and/ or small businesses in my local community. With no natural gas options in my area, most of my neighbors rely on costly options like propane, fuel oil and electricity to heat their homes. Our community center, fire department, church and small local store are also impacted by the high energy costs. This project will be funded by NYSERDA, and would be life changing for my community. I have been able to attend meetings about the project and how it will work. I have been fascinated in learning about the types of systems, and how the project will evolve and move forward. Seeing this project evolve from its infancy, collecting baseline data etc to now seeing the proposed closed loop system plan, has really inspired me to focus my own HVAC career on green energy. 2) Wrestling has always been “my” sport. The summer before my junior year I was working really hard to get ready for the season. I was working out, lifting weights and was really in a good spot to have a competitive season and win our sectional title. One weekend before the season started I was in a work related accident and burnt over 10% of my body. I was transferred from our local hospital to a burn center. It took me a good part of the season to rehab and I fell short of my goal of making states that season. I took it in stride and kept working hard. I was in the gym everyday. I attended a ton of skills camps over the summer and my senior year I came in with something to prove! I never lost a home dual. I was the IAC champion and a NYS qualifier in one of the hardest brackets in the division. 3) My boss would tell you I’m the guy who always gives 110%. I show up early, stay late and really care about doing a quality job. I treat everyone with respect and I am always trying to learn and pick up new skills. I am honest, reliable and have great attention to detail. I am a good communicator, and take responsibility for my actions. I’m prepared and am ready to do any task presented to me. They would say I have a good work ethic, and they are confident in the work I do.