By Lindsay Whelchel
Like many young people, Lori Flansburg was attending a traditional four-year college in western Oklahoma, taking class after class. She had accumulated 110 hours at the school, but for her, it wasn’t working out.
“There was nothing that I fell in love with, nothing I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” she says.
Flansburg knew she needed something else. That’s when she made the decision to move to Oklahoma City to attend the Culinary Arts program at Platt College and focus on her love of cooking.
More and more people are making the decision to attend what is commonly referred to as a “career college” and specialize in a particular field. According to a brief by Commissioner Jack Buckley over a report from the National Center of Education Statistics, “In recent years, for-profit institutions have entered the post-secondary marketplace in increasing numbers, and their share of undergraduate enrollment has increased from three percent in 2000 to nine percent in 2009.”
The report looks at numbers for both categories in higher education – traditional two- and four-year schools – and career or technical colleges like Platt, which began in 1979. Platt and other similar schools around the country provide accelerated, skill-focused education programs for students. They are seeing increased enrollment, likely due to the economy, explained Mollie Hager, executive director of Platt College.
“I think with today’s economy, people want to get their education quicker than they can with a four-year university,” she says. Hager explains that although the two paths are difficult to compare, she believes Platt is a good option for people who want an accelerated pathway or are considering a career change. And Hager should know – she was a single mother working in a dead-end job when she entered a career college and irrevocably changed her life.
Hager entered a school for medical assisting, and after graduation took a job as a dental assistant. Eventually, she was given the opportunity to work for Platt College and help initiate their dental assisting program in 1997.
“I know without a doubt the decision I made opened more doors than I ever expected,” she says, and adds, “If students have the determination and drive, and they are willing to take a different path, which is the choice I made, they might have the opportunity to experience doors opening for them, as well.”
Platt College has many program study options, ranging from Associate degrees and diplomas in the Culinary Arts and Home Entertainment and Networking Technology to the medical field, which includes Dental Assistant, Massage Therapy, Medical Lab Technician or Medical Office Specialist, Pharmacy Technician, Respiratory Care, Surgical Technologist and Nursing – including LPN, RN and Vocational, according to Hager.
“We have a range of different programs that offer a variety of careers needed in today’s industries,” says Hager. They focus on the academic side of the education as well as practical instruction within their five locations around Oklahoma – Moore, Tulsa, Lawton, Central and North Oklahoma City – as well as Dallas.
This is echoed by Platt’s Director of Education Cindi Walls, who explains that their Associate and Bachelor degree programs are taught by instructors with Masters Degrees, comparable to traditional schools.
“If you have a specific career in mind, then your decision to come to Platt puts you directly on that path. However, it also provides you with the equivalent number of hours of an Associate Degree in a four-year college, but in an expedited time,” says Walls.
Focusing on academics is emphasized in the Culinary Arts program, explains Dale Tanner, program manager for Culinary Arts.
“There are many places you can go and just learn the kitchen; but to be a chef in the culinary field nowadays really requires the whole package,” Tanner says. The general education requirements often take students by surprise, but they are necessary to succeed in the food service industry. Success is not as easy as the Food Network makes it appear, he explains.
“Platt gives a solid foundation. Students learn all the things a chef needs to be successful nowadays – it’s not just about cooking anymore,” Tanner says. Courses encompass safety and sanitation, the hot kitchen, Garde Manger, baking and pastry arts, as well as food and restaurant management.
But Tanner insists there is a definite appeal to cooking. “I think culinary arts has become, if I can use the word – sexy,” he laughs. This he also attributes in some part to the Food Network, but there are many directions in which students can take their careers as chefs.
“It’s an exciting field to be in, and if you look at all the various food-related avenues – cruise ships, luxury hotels, catering, resorts and other commercial food service establishments – there are great opportunities to which people are drawn.”
What Oklahoma non-chefs might be drawn to, however, are the fruits of the students’ labor. A well-kept secret about the school is their restaurant –
Chefs di Domani, located in Quail Springs, near the corner of N. May Ave. and W. Memorial Rd. – in which students in the highest levels of the program prepare no less than gourmet food, offered at a reasonable price. The students also act as servers, and guests can grade them after the meal. Though only open for lunch and dinner each Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the dining spot is sure to surprise you.
Students choose Platt College for Culinary Arts, Tanner explains, because the school is the only accredited Culinary Arts program in the state. Although not every school opts to be accredited, it is a good basic indicator of quality. Schools accredited by a nationally recognized agency have met certain quality standards established by that accrediting agency. Hager adds that only accredited schools, like Platt, can offer financial aid.
Platt currently has about 1,500 students enrolled within the school. In addition to the previously mentioned benefits, Platt College President Mike Pugliese cites the school’s family-feel as being an added draw. He recognizes that there are many options in higher education out there for people.
“I think all education is good; our main goal is to help people achieve their goals,” Pugliese says. And those who finish the program are impacting the state. “In my weekly travels, I run into our graduates everywhere I go,” he says.
And if the graduates are impacting the state, then the school is impacting the students. Just ask Flansburg, who is nearing the end of her time at Platt. She works in the class that cooks for the college restaurant and has an externship – essentially a short internship that gives students practical experience in their field of study – with a local restaurant.
Today, she is wearing a white chef’s uniform. She is also crying … but not because she’s sad. Rather, it is because she is being fulfilled by her decision to attend Platt College. It was scary at first, she admits, and she couldn’t have done it without the support she received from her family.
“My family has been amazing,” she says. “I’ve been working full-time and going to school, and I’m exhausted.”
Exhausted, yes, but clearly invigorated by her experience. Flansburg says that Platt has taught her technical skills, but beyond that, she has learned professionalism and, for the girl who admits to having low self-esteem, Platt College may have imparted an even more important lesson.
Smiling through her tears, Lori Flansburg says, “It has given me a new sense of self-confidence. I know I can succeed, and I’m excited about my career.”
