Success Stories
Laura Fenton
Vice President of Food Safety Systems Integrity, Advance Food Company

Education
Tulsa Technology Center student during high school
Tulsa Union High School
Tulsa Junior College (now Tulsa Community College)
Northeastern State University
Oklahoma State University

Get to Know Laura
Laura Fenton believes in education and has a special place in her heart, and in her schedule, for CareerTech classes. She attended Tulsa Technology Center during high school and still benefits from training she receives today through Autry Technology Center.

“In high school CareerTech was presented as an option that offered classes that were not available at my high school,” says Laura Fenton, who graduated from Tulsa Union. She took classes at Tulsa Tech to supplement her high school curriculum, specifically in the health and science field.

Her training led to a job at St. Francis Hospital, where she worked full time while attending community college. She earned an associate degree in health and worked for nine years as a medical laboratory technologist. Fenton then joined the food industry, working for manufacture Louis Rich in food safety and quality assurance. In order to be considered for management, Fenton returned to college (going to class in evenings and on weekends) to earn a bachelor’s degree in industrial management.

While working for Louis Rich, she also completed a master’s degree in food science from Oklahoma State University. When teaching a seminar at OSU, Fenton met some Advance Food Company executives and soon joined the Enid company, where she has worked for 16 years. She is the Vice President of Food Safety Systems Integrity.

“In the sixteen years I have been at Advance, I have never had a boring day. Advance is a dynamic company that has had tremendous growth. I can’t think of one of my peers in the industry that has had the opportunities I have had through mergers, acquisitions, building new facilities etc.,” says Fenton.

Throughout her career she has had to learn new skills to keep up with new industry requirements or to better manage new opportunities. She has taken a variety of classes through business and industry training at Autry and is grateful to have CareerTech as a resource so close to home.

“One of my favorite things about CareerTech is that it exists in Oklahoma. Most people take for granted that the CareerTech system can be found in other states. It can’t,” explains Fenton. “ The fact that throughout the state, and often in rural areas, an individual can receive a complete education that quite often will lead to a higher paying job. Additionally, the breadth of curriculum offered is astounding to me. From advance placement math and science to supplement high school course work to a long list of classes for professional people like me to take and gain skill sets that make my job easier and thus less stressful.”

Fenton enjoys cycling, kayaking and gardening. She volunteers on several non-profit boards, represents Advance on several national trade association committees and recommends CareerTech regularly.

If you or someone you know attended Autry or CareerTech and would like to share your story, please contact Autry. Email Autry.