Life does not always follow the path we anticipate. Uintah Basin Technical College recently highlighted the journey of one of its members to show us that that is okay. Brady Hales recently earned his Culinary Arts Certificate but it was not a straight path to get there. Brady graduated from high school in 2015 and enrolled in the UBTech Culinary Arts program, the very first year that UBTech offered the program. He was slightly older than the typical beginning student as he had dealt with an undiagnosed learning challenge. This challenge coupled with the learning curve of the program led to him being discouraged after failing to pass the ServeSafe test more than once. He dropped out in 2016. Three years later a job opportunity was available if he graduated from the Culinary Arts program. Through open communication about his difficulties, Brady learning to take responsibility to keep his instructors in the loop, and the instructors willingness to help an individual learn in his particular way Brady found success. He passed the ServSafe test the very first time. Accommodations were made including one-on-one math tutoring provided by Chef Alec Foster along with practice tests, “but he still had to understand the concepts and know the answers,” said UBTech Executive Chef Chris Taggart, CEC. Taggert shared that Brady never made excuses for his struggles and he was successful as “he was on time, he was ready to work, [and] he had the tools he needed– that added to his success.”
