Successful Alumni
Jeremy Taylor
Jeremy Taylor grew up helping his mom in the kitchen, but he never thought it would become his livelihood. “My mom was always trying to guide me toward this type of work, but I never thought I would be doing this for a living,” says Taylor. That is, until he enrolled in the culinary arts program at Tri County Technology Center. “I just fell in love with it right away.”
Taylor, who graduated from Pawhuska High School, decided to pursue his career in the culinary field after his time at Tri County. “Chefs Poe and Garmy were extremely knowledgeable,” says Jeremy. I could not have asked for better teachers to get me started in this profession.”
Jeremy went on to work at Forest Ridge Golf Club in Broken Arrow. He was originally hired to man the omelet station during Sunday brunch, but was soon being asked to create menus and specialty dinners.
After working at Forest Ridge for several months, Taylor realized he wanted to further his education in the culinary world and set his sights on the Scottsdale Culinary Institute, Le Cordon Bleu Program.
“It was a situation where Jeremy loved what he was doing, but he realized it was in his best interest to continue his education,” says Jim Taylor, Jeremy’s dad.
Scottsdale Culinary Institute in Arizona is affiliated with Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America and offers quality education in the fields of culinary arts, pastry and baking, and hospitality. There are seven kitchens, six classrooms, a library, and housing right in the middle of it all, something that is “very nice and convenient,” according to Jeremy.
Jeremy began the program in Scottsdale in May. He will graduate with an Associates degree in August of 2008, and will continue on to get his Bachelors degree in 2009.
During his time at SCI, Taylor has completed courses focused on everything from vegetable and starch cookery to saucier. He has maintained a 4.0 and is on the President’s List, an honor that has earned him a trip to Italy for two weeks in which he can study Italian cuisine firsthand.
When asked about his plans after graduation, Taylor replies, “I would like to either stay in the Scottsdale area, or move to Nevada or California. It would be ideal to work in a large city for a few years, where I can absorb more knowledge from someone who has been in the profession for some time, and then hopefully open my own restaurant in about ten years.”
But before he gets to that, he has something else very important to plan in the near future. Taylor and girlfriend, Lindsey Kidwell, became engaged in July and are now planning their wedding for March 21 in Scottsdale.
“Never a dull moment,” he says. “And we like it that way.”
Ashlee Fritts 
Ashlee Fritts is not what one would consider a typical nineteen year old. In the past year, this teenager graduated from high school, attended the SkillsUSA state competition, the SkillsUSA national competition, and has landed herself a position as a drafter for Tanner Consulting in Bartlesville.
Ashlee and her mother moved to Bartlesville when she was a junior in high school. She attended Caney Valley High School, and once there, decided she would begin the Computer Aided Drafting program at Tri County Technology Center. Initially, when Ashlee signed up for the program she thought it was a higher level drawing class, but soon realized it was much more than that.
Tri County Technology Center’s Computer Aided Drafting program prepares its students for an exciting career in drafting and design. The program does start with basic drawing theories, but then advances to techniques in CAD skills utilizing state-of-the-art computers and software programs. This hands-on class allows students to excel and enjoy the challenge of problem solving while utilizing various levels of engineering CAD architecture, customizing CAD as well as special projects that the student and instructor, Dan Cowart, agree upon.
It did not take long for Cowart to realize that Ashlee was going to excel in the course. “It was obvious to me early on that Ashlee would follow through on all of her projects; she always gets the job done,” says Dan Cowart. “I knew she was capable of doing very well in the Skills competition.”
Fritts entered the Technical Drafting portion of the SkillsUSA Oklahoma competition. The purpose of this contest is to evaluate contestant’s preparation for employment and recognizes outstanding students for excellence and professionalism in the field of technical drafting. The contest was four hours long and focused on the solution of industry-developed problems by applying technical drafting skills and tools including CAD. “We were given a word problem describing all the dimensions of a particular object. Then, we were allowed to view the object for only one minute, before it was taken away and we had to start our design from scratch,” said Fritts.
The course and Dan Cowart’s instruction paid off because Ashlee won first place at the competition, earning her an invitation to the SkillsUSA national competition in Kansas City, Missouri. “Once I started the Computer Aided Drafting course at Tri County, I loved it,” says Ashlee. “Mr. Cowart always encouraged me in class and the competitions, and he even helped me get my job with Tanner Consulting.”
Cowart introduced Ashlee to John Bean, Branch Manager of Tanner Consulting. Bean had also been one of Cowart’s students in the CAD program at Tri County. Tanner Consulting offers services in preliminary land planning and engineering, land use consulting, civil engineering, hydrology, architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, and project development coordination and consulting.
They specialize in everything from simple residential to complex multi-use projects, and now, Ashlee Fritts adds her expertise to the company. “We feel extremely lucky to have Ashlee as a part of our team,” said Bean. “The SkillsUSA national competition is a big deal in our field, and we are very proud of her.”
Dan Cowart echoes Bean’s feelings. “Ashlee is one of the fastest drafters I have ever seen for someone her age, and I know how hard she works,” he says.