NHS ‘23 Grad Nolan Deer Ahead Of The Game

By: Betsy Reason

Noblesville High School 2023 graduate Nolan Deer already has training, experience and a job that he loves.

The 18-year-old — who was among 737 seniors who walked down the aisle at commencement, turned their tassels and graduated with the NHS Class of 2023 on June 6 — is ahead of the game.

“The thing I’m really most proud about is actually the things I’m doing right now. Getting so ahead of everybody else in the construction experience while still in high school really pushed me above everybody else,” said Deer, who graduated NHS with a Technical Honors Diploma.

Deer learned construction work and earned credits toward graduation while still in high school. He started at the ABC (Associated Builders & Contractors) Construction Prep Academy in Fishers and, from there, he said, “I got the job I have now.”

Early on, he knew he didn’t want to go to college. “I was never a school person,” he said.

During his elementary school years, he remembers how his third-grade teacher Mrs. (Elizabeth) Ahlgrim at Our Lady of Grace School in Noblesville encouraged him to “do whatever makes you happy,” he said.

Growing up, he also received encouragement from his family, including stepdad, Kurt Meyer, Old Town Noblesville Realtor and former high school drafting teacher, who married Deer’s mom. “My parents got divorced, and my mom found Kurt, then my dad, David (Deer), found my stepmom Jennifer.” The teen’s mom, Andrea Deer Meyer, owns a scrapbooking business, and his dad, David Deer, is chief financial officer at Stanley Security. Deer has two biological brothers, Caleb, 21, a welder, and Rylan, 23, in psychology; and five stepbrothers and one stepsister. He received encouragement from his family, who he now helps with handyman jobs around the house thanks to his training.

His love for working with his hands started at an early age.

“I used to play a lot of building games when I was a kid, like Minecraft,” said Deer, who also loved putting together Legos.

Deer attended Noblesville East Middle School and then spent his freshman year at Hamilton Heights High School.

“At Heights, they had a Construction program that you could start during your sophomore year, and that was my first taste of construction,” he said.

“I always knew that I would want to work with my hands and not sit near a desk all day, especially after seeing my (welder) brother (Caleb, a 2018 NHS grad) become so successful in the construction field. It really pushed me to be just like him,” the teen said.

At Heights, Deer during his sophomore year had his construction class, learning mostly carpentry skills, at the end of every school day. “That’s kind of where I knew that I wanted to work with my hands.” He had a “really good teacher” named Eric Fisher. “That kind of got in my mindset that I wanted to do construction,” Deer said.

After his sophomore year at Hamilton Heights, Deer transferred to NHS to graduate with his friends. He went from a traditional schedule to a block schedule. That’s when he found out about ABC Construction Prep Academy, he said, “I knew I had to get in that class because it was construction experience that older people dreamed about getting. It was a step ahead from everyone else, and I always like being one step ahead.”

His junior year, he had only four classes at NHS, so he attended two classes a day, then departed after lunch and went to ABC Prep Academy.

At ABC, he learned different trades that included plumbing, carpentry, electrical and a little about heating, ventilation and air conditioning. He also went through safety training and learned that, with work, he could earn certifications and become “better than the average hire,” all for free. Plus, ABC Prep Academy hours transferred to high school credits.

At the end of his junior year, he met his current boss, Danny Kidwell, from Design & Build Electrical Engineering & Contractors in Indianapolis, at a hiring event at ABC Prep Academy. “And it’s history from there, I guess,” he said. “They let me work part time (and get a paycheck) with them while still going to school, and I did a good enough job that they hired me full time.”

His senior year, Deer had four classes (PE, Government, Economics and English) during Black days, then during Gold (days) he went to a Design & Build site location and worked a full eight-hour day (7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.),” he said.

Deer said contractors now look at him as someone with experience. He’s skid-steer certified, scissor-lift certified, boom-lift certified, OSHA 10 certified, ladder safety certified, and has two years of construction experience. He’s done conduit, put up lights, put up receptacles, and knows how to troubleshoot. “My company is so small that they have to rely on their workers to know a little bit of everything,” he said.

After his last day of high school, he went to work 40 hours a week, then graduated high school with a pay raise.

He’s still an apprentice at Design & Build, “but they see me as a little bit more than an apprentice because of all of my schooling.” The company has paired Deer up with a foreman. “And I’m the foreman’s right-hand man,” he said. “They’re putting more responsibility on me just because of all of my education and experience.”

He hopes to get a lot of hands-on experience and learn how a jobsite runs.

After three years with Design & Build, which constructs churches, hospitals and office buildings, his goal is to be a foreman with the company. After that, he wants enough experience to earn his Master Electrician license and then hopes to own and operate his own business someday.

As the new NHS grad looks back at his high school career, he’s glad he made the choices that he did. He said, “I feel amazing about it, because I know it’s making me one step ahead of everybody else.”

-Betsy Reason writes about people, places and things in Hamilton County. Contact The Times Editor Betsy Reason at betsy@thetimes24-7.com.