Myhal is finishing his senior year with his eyes focused on the future.

Andrew Myhal, a senior at Worthington Christian, distinctly remembers the day he saw “the car of the future.”

“When I was in the third or fourth grade, a Tesla store had just opened up in the corner of Easton Mall, and my dad took me to look at the cars there,” Myhal said with a laugh. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow. This is cool. How do they work?’”

The more Myhal researched the Tesla, the more he realized the car was “unsustainable for the future of America’s power source and infrastructure.”

Myhal believes the answer might be in a hydrogen fuel cell he hopes to research at Anderson University. The senior recently earned a full scholarship and will study mechanical engineering and entrepreneurship at the Indiana school.

Asked if hydrogen was really the solution, Myhal said, “I am definitely sure … as I can be as a 17-year-old.”

Principal Tim Kraynak has no doubts that Myhal will be successful at Anderson. He’s just not sure the senior can limit himself to one thing.

“Where do you start with Andrew? That kid is involved with basically everything,” Kraynak said. “I appreciate the way he interacts with his peers. He cares deeply about the school. He builds significant relationships with the people he interacts with. He’s just a quality kid.”

Myhal feels as strongly about his relationships with the school’s faculty as he does about the ones he established with his friends.

“The number one thing that stands out about Worthington Christian is the teacher relationships,” Myhal said. “It’s our school’s best asset.

“The teachers act like fellow believers, brothers, and sisters instead of solely as authority figures. Yet they still have an influence and responsibility they take seriously.”

Myhal points to a 12th-grade Bible class he had this year with Jackson Woosley. On the first day of class, the teacher opened with reading from Psalms and a community prayer.

That 120 seconds changed the course of the class.

“Those two minutes have set a tone for the rest of the year,” he said. “They are a constant reminder of (the class’s) purpose and the disposition I should have in life.”

Outside academics, Myhal plays the saxophone, sings with the school’s worship band, and is a lead actor in the theatre department.

If there is one area Myhal struggles with, it is nailing himself down to one area.

For example, Myhal loves music, but he had difficulty picking an instrument. He started playing the cello in fourth grade and then picked up the saxophone in sixth grade.

“To be honest, strings weren’t my cup of tea,” he said. “I wanted to try something new. I picked up the saxophone because it looked so cool.

“I taught myself trumpet and bassoon to have a more well-rounded look at instruments. I can play on a double reed, a single reed, and a brass mouthpiece.”

Myhal likes composing music and writing out arrangements for small groups as a hobby. Myhal sees a definite connection between science and music.

“Music is a fantastic form of communication, a great stress reliever, and a gift from God,” he said. “Music is mentioned everywhere in the Bible. People sing for joy; people sing because they’re in pain. It’s almost like a catharsis.

“I would love to take music to a semi-professional level, but I can only do so many things with my life. Solving energy problems is more crucial and time-sensitive than playing music.”