Jun. 6—After years of academic struggles, Columbia Falls High School senior Taven Fleming found the motivation and confidence to shift gears in pursuit of a better future.
On Saturday, he will walk across the stage at graduation — his future mapped out.
While he won’t be the first in his family to graduate from high school, he is one of few, and hopes to see the educators, family and friends who helped him get here, in the audience.
Fleming’s transformation began his junior year, when he entered the high school’s intervention program. With additional support, like tutoring and mentoring, he gained confidence and motivation in his ability to change course.
“I’ve always struggled with my grades and paying attention in class. It’s pretty difficult for me just sitting down and shutting up. It was frustrating. I kind of gave up on trying,” Fleming said. “Until pretty much this year, I didn’t see college as an option. I wasn’t convinced I would graduate.”
A shift came when he started thinking about his future and what it would take to achieve it.
“I kind of thought about what I wanted to do with my life. I want to make some good money and learn some new stuff — step out of my comfort zone,” Fleming said.
Fleming is the son of father Kirk Fleming, mother Chris Rogers and stepfather Randi Rogers.
A key influence was Columbia Falls High School Intervention Specialist and College and Career Coordinator, Jolandie Brooks, who helped him realize that major life decisions lay ahead, and if he wanted to expand his college and career options, he would need to kick his efforts into high gear.
“She helped me see that I could do better,” he said.
Brooks said the turning point came when Fleming purchased a 1964 Plymouth Valiant to restore.
“It gave us a tangible way to connect classroom learning with real-life application. Through budgeting, welding, and other hands-on skills, Taven began to see how education could directly support his goals,” Brooks said.
“Since then, Taven has not only raised his grades, but he’s also developed a clear vision for his future,” she said, which encompasses a summer internship and college.
HAVING THE expertise of his grandfathers, Dave Fleming, who is a small engine mechanic, and Mike Gustav, who grew up building hot rods in a body shop, he decided to take the plunge and buy a car at a Libby car show last year.
The Valiant was parked next to his first pick, a Cadillac, but it was too expensive for his budget. He decided to go home and research the Valiant.
“I realized how cool it was, so I went back a week later, and bought it,” he said, with his mother’s blessing.
The project put a spotlight on his aptitude for hands-on learning, leading to his decision to pursue a career in the trades.
For an interview with the Daily Inter Lake in May, Fleming was asked to drive the car to school to be featured in his portrait. As he pulled up in the blue car, the color faded and scuffed from sanding, two skulls dangling from the rearview mirror swayed slightly as he put it into park. The license plate reads “Ole Gus.”
“It was covered in primer that was just rubbing off, so I finished sanding most of it off to get it down to the original paint,” he said. “I love the way it looks all beat up and paint rubbing off, but I think I’m gonna paint it yellow.”
Getting it into drivable condition took roughly 50 hours of repairs.
“It ran, but it could hardly move under its power, like it was leaking gas, really bad, just waiting to catch on fire,” Fleming said. “[It’s] still in need of significant repairs.”
He replaced the gas tank, the carburetor, and fuel system, along with the brakes.
He highlighted the car restoration in a senior project, which focused on intergenerational learning and how those relationships have made an impact on students’ lives.
“It’s seeing a different point of view from what you’re used to,” he said.
He said his grandparents have helped him become more confident in tackling challenges and not be afraid to make mistakes.
“I’m way better at problem-solving now. I’m not so nervous just to jump into stuff,” he said.
Funding a car restoration project and attending college requires a sizeable amount of money.
NO STRANGER to work, Fleming has held jobs since junior high. With a chef as a stepfather, he started working in restaurants as a dishwasher and doing some food prep. Currently, he is a cook at Abruzzo Italian Kitchen in Whitefish and takes some culinary classes at Columbia Falls High School. Sauteing is one of his favorite techniques and steak and tacos are his favorite dishes to cook.
He also finds and resells secondhand and vintage clothes.
“I don’t really know how I picked that up. My dad’s mom, my grandma Theresa … she likes to thrift and garage sale, so I kind of picked that up,” Fleming said.
By doing some research online, he saw there was a large market of people interested in buying and reselling secondhand clothing. Seeing how much money he could earn, he started listing items for sale and found success. He said it may have learned his business sense from his nana TJ Pyskaty.
“She always kind of drove it in my head to save money. She owned an old DVD store in the plaza at the end of Nucleus. And growing up I was around there a lot, and I would help her count money. She would trade me a bag of candy,” he said with a laugh.
His clothing finds can be found on consignment at Coyote, 510 Nucleus Ave., Columbia Falls, and for sale online at a site called Depop.
Looking to defray the costs of college, Fleming secured more than $5,000 in scholarships, Brooks noted.
“What’s most inspiring is that Taven hopes to one day start his own business and give back to students at CFHS — particularly those who, like him, may have been overlooked due to grades or other challenges,” Brooks said.
Through the scholarship application process, Fleming said many primarily focused on having a high GPA. Fleming said he would like to establish a scholarship that emphasizes a student’s work ethic and aspirations.
IN HIS downtime, Fleming’s ultimate hobby is fly fishing for brown trout, cutthroat and brook trout, an interest he shares with his dad and grandfathers and is looking forward to finding new fishing spots in Bozeman.
“When I find a good spot, I go back and back and back. But I like trying new spots and exploring the valley. I usually write down five or 10 goals for the summer in my phone, and usually it’s to see more lakes, more mountains and find new spots,” he said.
He chose fly fishing because of the physicality of it and the challenge. There’s splendor in a colorful fish leaping from the water toward the fly, according to Fleming.
“It’s more intricate. You have to be a lot more focused than regular fishing,” he said
In the fall, Fleming will attend the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC-R) program at Gallatin College, Montana State University, planning to obtain an Associate of Applied Science degree.
“I picked HVAC because it seemed the most interesting to me. I wanted to have a goal set in my head so that I could work harder towards [achieving] that,” Fleming said.
Going to Bozeman will be another step out of his comfort zone having visited the city once.
“Even Kalispell is too big of a town for me,” Fleming said smiling. “I decided to go to Bozeman, get uncomfortable and figure stuff out.”
Columbia Falls High School graduation starts at 11 a.m. Saturday in the high school gym for more than 141 students. Doors open at 10 a.m. There will be no restrictions on seating or attendance. Columbia Falls High School is located at 610 13th St. W. in Columbia Falls.
Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 785-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.