OJR mechanic gets scholarship

By Michael Hays
mhays@pottsmerc.com
NORTH COVENTRY — It was Nathan Ewing’s stepdad who first captured his interest in auto body work. Now Ewing has decided to make a career of it, a choice made easier thanks to a full scholarship from WyoTech, a trades institute in Blairsville.
A senior at Owen J. Roberts High School and student of CAT Pickering in Phoenixville, Ewing recently won a top prize for his automotive finishing skills at the 2008 Skills USA competition and is now moving on to a nationwide contest in Kansas City, June 22-28.
That distinction comes as no surprise to Rick Dotterer, who employs Ewing after school at Dotterer Auto Body in North Coventry Township.
“He specializes in refinishing,” Dotterer said. “He’s worked on the Mustang here, and any type of collision work.”
Refinishing often involves taking a scratch — on a car’s fender, for instance — and then sanding it, priming it and painting it to make the blemish disappear.
Ewing also won partial scholarships to two other institutes, but he plans to pursue an associates degree in auto body collision at WyoTech this fall.
After college, the job market could be robust with openings in automotive refinishing.