Capstone Painting's Founder Wants to Help More Students Pursue Skilled Trades Careers

Capstone Painting owner Daniel Rust has launched a new scholarship for Waterloo Region students pursuing a skilled trades career. The $1,000 scholarship is open to any grade 12 student enrolled in a Waterloo Region high school. The Grand Valley Construction Association is matching Daniel’s donation to award a combined $2,000 to the winning student.

Daniel is a fourth-year Architectural Engineering student at the University of Waterloo who founded Capstone Painting in 2023 to pay for his tuition, rent, gas, food, and all the other costs of being a student. A self-described entrepreneur at heart, Daniel says he started to realize that there were more opportunities to grow Capstone than he originally thought.

“My goals have grown, and I'm now hoping to continue growing this business even after graduating. I want to start building out a team and getting bigger jobs,” Daniel says.

The idea for the scholarship was always part of Daniel’s plans when launching Capstone Painting.

“I always want to be able to help younger people, and I knew as soon as I had a little bit of extra money, that setting up a scholarship was something that I wanted to do. I'm happy to say that it's happened pretty quickly. Just two years into it, and now's the time to do it,” he says.

As Capstone Painting has taken off, Daniel says his post-graduation plans have changed. His goal is now to continue growing Capstone and expanding its services.

“It's amazing how much there is to learn. At first, I thought painting wasn’t exciting, but that’s not true. There's so much to learn, and there's so much science to it. I could see myself doing this for 20 years and still learning and still being a student,” Daniel says.

Daniel grew up in Petrolia, Ontario, and followed in his mother's and sister’s footsteps by studying at Waterloo. His mother is a computer science graduate, and his sister earned her degree in civil engineering at the school.

“I'm two years behind my sister, and I went with her on all the tours of Waterloo. When it was my turn, I knew the Architectural Engineering program was perfect for me, but the thing that I liked the most was the co-op program,” he says.

Like many programs at the University of Waterloo, Architectural Engineering is a five-year program that includes four to six co-operative education terms. Daniel took advantage of the Enterprise Co-op program, a unique offering at Waterloo that allows students to start and run a business during one of their co-op terms. The program is limited to only 30 students across the University.

“I had the opportunity to do that, and I’d like to do it again to dedicate those four months to grow Capstone. My dream was always to start a business, but why wait 20 years. Why not start now,” he says.

Daniel hopes his scholarship can help someone pursue a similar dream in the skilled trades. Applicants must be enrolled in a Waterloo Region high school who plan to enter a post-secondary program in plumbing, electrical, carpentry, masonry, and other selected trades.

“I'm committed to growing this business and hopefully be able to give away bigger and bigger scholarships with every year,” Daniel says.

You can find more details on the scholarship and how to apply at capstonepainting.ca/scholarship

Written by: Alex Kinsella