Jordan and Jonathan McKee have heard comparisons between them all their lives.
Some correlations caused dissention or even quarrels as they aged.
Ultimately, they began appreciating their similarities, and the dissention stopped. Recently, Jonathan McKee served as best man at his older brother’s wedding.
The Tuttle High School graduates – Jordan in 2011 and Jonathan in 2016 – both declared as engineering majors at Oklahoma State University after successfully completing Pre-Engineering programs at Canadian Valley Technology Center.
Jordan McKee completed a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2015 and went to work as for The Boeing Company. He said he is thrilled his younger brother followed a similar path and is on track to complete a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at OSU in May of 2021.
Jordan McKee, 26, of Edmond, said his family conducted lots of research before choosing an education pathway. He said he had a keen interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (or STEM).
The conclusion was that Canadian Valley offered the best preparation for college engineering.
“My parents were actually very encouraging,” he said. “They wanted to make sure I was doing everything I could to prepare for college, and going to CV Tech just made sense to them. My little brother had it even easier when he wanted to attend CV Tech. By that time, we had already seen the benefits and advantages the program provided me.”
McKee said the pace, difficulty and expectation within Canadian Valley’s Pre-Engineering program is on par with college courses.
“CV Tech was able to do more personal teaching, due to smaller class sizes than you would typically see in college,” he said. “The program also prepared us for calculus and physics AP (or Advanced Placement) tests, which allowed me to use that as credit and not have to take the courses in college. College is expensive and being able to test out of some of the freshman courses saved time and money.”
The elder McKee is a structural engineer at Boeing, working in the sustainment effort for the KC-135 Stratotanker, a four-turbojet military aerial refueling aircraft. It’s his job to design repair solutions from cockpit to tail for the massive plane.
Mechanical engineers typically design, develop, build and test mechanical and thermal sensors and devices. Civil engineers, meanwhile, usually design, build, and supervise infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges dams and buildings.
Median annual pay (half earn more and half less) for both careers is nearly $87,000, according to information supplied by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment in the two fields is projected to grow between 4 and 6 percent through 2028.
Jonathan McKee, 22, said he looks forward to finishing school and going to work. He recalls going with his older brother to tour CV Tech’ Pre-Engineering program.
“I remember being more excited than he was,” he said. (My parents) saw it as a head start to what we both knew would be our careers one day. This was a great preparation for us to get used to having to do those things before we got to college.”
CV Tech’s Pre-Engineering program is one of two college-prep programs (also Biomedical Sciences). This STEM academy is open to high school sophomores, juniors and seniors and is offered at both the Chickasha and El Reno campuses.
Curriculum features a virtual alphabet soup of courses, such as AP Calculus BC and AP Physics C – Mechanics, plus Project Lead the Way courses like Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Engineering Design and Development. For more information, call (405) 224-7220 in the Chickasha area or (405) 262-2629 in the El Reno-Mustang-Yukon area.
