Austin Wilson, an 18-year-old Wilmington native and skilled woodworker, was chosen from hundreds of contestants in a nationwide search to be one of three new apprentices on the home improvement television show This Old House, according to a news release.
 
Now in its 39th season, This Old House launched the Generation Next: Casting Call in early 2017, and Wilson applied in April. Generation Next reflects This Old House’s "commitment to addressing the dearth of skilled labor in the workplace, which is having a profound impact on the building industry," officials said in the release.

The apprentices first appeared in episode 3, which aired Oct. 21.
 
The day after graduating from New Hanover High School, Wilson flew to Boston to spend the summer working with the cast and crew of This Old House, renovating one of this season’s project houses.

This Old House hired a video crew to film his graduation, his leaving home and boarding the plane.

Wilson proved to be a natural fit with the rest of the cast and crew throughout the summer, officials said.
 
Wilson first learned woodworking at a local after-school program, Kids Making It, starting at the age of 12. He not only learned woodworking and construction skills but has become a peer mentor to the younger kids, officials said.

This fall he is studying construction management at Cape Fear Community College. He continues to come to the Kids Making It shop regularly.

Wilson will rejoin the show's crew in Boston for an event in December.