'It's in my blood': teenager plows snow like family before him

Colby Pickard was onlytwoyearsold when he first gota taste for snowplowing.

Pickard, now 16, would sit on his grandfather's lap while heoperatedequipment withthe family'sexcavation and demolition company in Moncton. Back then, Pickard's job was to helpsteer the big machines.

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"It's in my blood, I guess you could say," saidPickard.

The New Brunswick teen sayseven at two,he knew he wanted to drive snow plows.

'It's just so neat seeingMonctonas it is in a snow storm at night when no one's on the roads.'- Colby Pickard

Today,he does just that and says he's making "good money" too.

"It'sa completely different world when you're out there plowing," Pickard said.

As he plows, Pickard enjoys the open space and fewer cars on the road.

"It's just so neat seeing Moncton as it is in a snow storm at night when no one's on the roads," he said.

While he's plowing, Pickardstill thinks of his grandfather, with whom he shares a special relationship.

"He's always on my mind, wondering how he is or what he's doing or how he's making out."

Following Monday'sblizzard in Moncton, Pickard started a roughly 15hour day on Tuesday, which startedat 6:30 a.m.

He gets through those long hour shifts bydrinking large volumes of Gatorade and French Vanilla.

By 9 p.m. on Tuesday, a tired Pickard went home for the night.

"I like to keep my marks up for school, so I definitely wanted my sleep." he said.

'School comes first'

Pickard says balancing bothschoolwork andplowing involvestime management.

If necessary, he will come home from plowing and study for an hour.

He tries to complete most of hisschoolwork at schooland seeks extra help if he needs it.

"You gotta know how to manage it and if you don'tyou won't get very far," he said. "Yougotta study to get through high school."

Ultimately, school is Pickard's priority.

"Say there's school in the morning and I'm plowing at night, I'll definitely go right from the plow to school," he said. "Ifneed be, I'll go back out after school."

If that's not enough, he also works parttime at Sobeys and finds time to play hockey.

After high school, Pickardhopes to become an electrician.

"School's number one and then plowing's number two," he said.