Walden signs scholarship to further HVAC career

While many formal college scholarship signings involve athletics, Ryley Walden of Comanche is going a different route. After making a good impression working as an intern at Sellers Air Conditioning in Duncan, Walden now finds himself heading off to college with the company sponsoring his education.

“Josh Osborn (Sellers Air Conditioning employee) saw how well he worked and Josh told me that we needed to keep him,” Mike Sellers, owner, said.

And in Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology in Okmulgee, Sellers found the perfect place to send him.

“It is a very good school,” Sellers said. “It has more in-depth training than a lot of the other schools. When he graduates, he’ll be able to go right in the truck to work on jobs by himself.”

The signing ceremony took place Oct. 31 at Providence Baptist Church in Meridian.

“I like hands-on type of work and working in different trades,” Walden said. “With all that is involved with HVAC, I figured it was right up my alley. When I figured that out, I got a job with Sellers last summer.”

When Osborn saw potential in Walden, the two began talking about taking the necessary steps to make it a permanent job.

“We started getting the information on sponsorships and I thought it was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up,” Walden said.

It is the first time Sellers has sponsored someone through the program.

“It’s expensive and I wasn’t able to do it in the past, but we’ve worked with (OSUIT corporate sponsor) J.D. (Hughes) to work together on a sponsorship,” Sellers said. “It will pay off in the long run. He’ll have the education and training to diagnose problems and fix equipment.”

For his part, Walden will be required to meet certain academic standards and will have a contract stating he will work for Sellers for a minimum amount of time upon graduation.

“OSU Institute of Technology has a proven track record of preparing students for careers,” said Hughes. “It stands out among our education portfolio as a leader in applied technical education, favoring labs over lectures. “

Hughes said OSUIT has nearly a 90% placement rate for its graduates.

“Not only will they have a job, they will be in high demand far and wide,” Hughes said. “It is important for industry to have relationships with higher education, and I’m thrilled to see this model so well demonstrated here today.”

Among the guest speakers at the signing was District 65 State Rep. Toni Hasenbeck.

“I think this is a great thing,” Hasenbeck said. “I wish we had a system in place where we could have every student leaving school with a job. It’s a great way to avoid student debt.”

After successfully completing the two-year program, Walden will graduate with an associate’s degree in applied science. He is already six weeks into the program and said it has been going well.

“We get our own trainer,” Walden said. “It’s getting harder and I’m learning more.”