Student Success Stories

APEC structural engineer Mark Waatti attended FVCC for two years before transferring to Montana State University in Bozeman. “When I came out of Bozeman, I owed $20,000” recalls Waatti. “When I left FVCC, I didn’t owe anything. Plus, I was able to transfer every single credit I earned. They have a great program here for transferring!

“Going to school at FVCC, I got a lot of one-on-one contact with instructors. Class sizes are so much smaller here. Teachers pick up if someone is struggling with something. I’ve always felt like the first year was the hardest. And once you get through that, you know you can make it.

“By the time I got to my upper-level classes at FVCC, there were only four students in the engineering classes,” concludes Waatti, who graduated with a degree in civil engineering in 2003 before launching a rewarding and satisfying career preparing building plans for construction, identifying whether or not they’re structurally sound and then creating the designs. “We all transferred to Bozeman, and we all felt like we were ahead of everyone else there.”

“I still depend on my mentors at FVCC,” says Kalispell Regional Medical Center X-ray supervisor Chelsea Thramer, a 2005 graduate of the FVCC radiologic technology program. “The teacher of the X-ray program, Tom McFaland, for example, is somebody I still consult because he isn’t just an academic observer in the field. He’s been there, done that and has an entire rich life of professional experience to share with us.

 “I always knew I wanted to go into healthcare and the FVCC X-ray program sounded both interesting and challenging,” explains Thramer. “They select five or six students per year, so it’s a very small program. Half the day is didactic where we learn by observing and interacting with professionals at work. The rest of the day is spent learning through actual hands-on clinical experiences.

“Every day is different. I work closely alongside a radiologist and learn a lot as I’m going along. It’s not just taking pictures. I look for pathology, too. It’s really rewarding.”

Sample one of his signature creations. You’ll find it difficult to believe that Casey Williams had a different and equally successful career managing various restaurant properties before taking the plunge into the kitchen and becoming a chef par excellence. “FVCC gives you a solid base to step right into a professional kitchen,” says Williams who completed the one-year professional chef training program at FVCC in 2004 and currently serves as an in-demand lead line cook at Wasabi Sushi Bar and Ginger Grill in Whitefish.

“My instructor, Les Simon, pushed me to work with celebrity chef Marc Guizol of La Provence in Bigfork. Marc hadn’t accepted any students in years. Ultimately, I got the internship. If it weren’t for Les pushing me, I wouldn’t have gone for it.”

Equally important as the techniques Williams learned at FVCC was the freedom to experiment with the rich variety of flavors, textures and colors available in cuisine today. Before coming to Wasabi, Williams served as evening chef at Rising Sun Bistro in Whitefish where he experimented with his very own variations of culinary creations prepared with French technique.  “You go to my house and there are cookbooks open everywhere. I’m constantly trying to learn and push myself. My FVCC education is definitely one of the better things I’ve done for myself!”