After completing his first year of teaching at Tulsa Tech, Orlando Ortiz is settling into his role as an Aviation Maintenance Technology (AMT) instructor, guiding the next generation of aircraft technicians with knowledge forged over decades in the field.
For more than four decades, Grant Griffin has stitched his life’s work into the fabric of technical education. A master upholsterer and dedicated educator, Griffin began teaching in 1979, joining Tulsa Tech officially in 2004. His journey, however, starts long before that—with a life defined by resilience, service and an unshakable passion for helping others build skills and self-sufficiency.
David Crary spent 24 years stringing wire and climbing poles across 48 states—missing only Maine and Washington. Today, he’s back in Oklahoma, not stringing lines, but shaping lives. At Tulsa Tech, Crary now teaches a new generation of aspiring lineworkers in our Electric Utility Lineworker program and is driven by the same grit and values that guided his own career.
Dr. Seuss may have coined the phrase, Oh, the Places You’ll Go, but for Tulsa Tech alumnus Dave Banks, it perfectly captures his incredible career path. What began at the Tulsa Public Schools Vocational Technical Center, now known as Tulsa Tech, laid the foundation for a remarkable journey filled with adventure, laughter and the pictures to back it up.
For Lane Veld, fixing things was never just a hobby—it was a calling. If something had an engine, he wanted to take it apart. If it broke, he had to know why. That curiosity, sparked on his family farm, led him to a career in automation.
Legendary NCAA basketball coach John Wooden often reminded his players, "Good things take time." At Tulsa Tech, those good things are not just opportunities—they’re pathways to life-changing growth. For some students, it’s about discovering a passion. For others, it’s finding purpose, unlocking potential, or redefining what they’re capable of.
The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision, those are the words of American author Hellen Keller. Her words resonate now more than ever, especially in a world where screens and notifications often steal our attention.
Visual Graphic Design Instructor Tim Lange presented his class with a new assignment, but this wasn’t just an assignment, it was a real-world competition for a logo design for the Jenks America Museum & Historical Society.
“What’s next after high school?” It’s a question that looms large for seniors, yet a 2022 YouScience survey revealed only 25% of them feel prepared to answer it.
There is a saying in life that you miss 100 percent of the chances that you do not take. For Video Production student Brady Rustan, he made sure to take advantage of every chance.