By the time Lynkon Davis walks across the stage, his career will already be underway.
The Ponca City High School senior will receive his diploma Friday night after years spent building the skills, relationships, and work ethic that helped get him there.
At 18, Lynkon is stepping into a project management track at a local manufacturing company, an opportunity many don’t see until years into their careers. His path wasn’t perfectly planned. It took shape through hands-on learning, persistence, and relationships with people who recognized his potential and chose to invest in it.
As a student, Lynkon worked through academic challenges with the support of teachers like Bethany Fredricks.
“He closed the gaps. He worked hard,” Fredricks said. “I knew I was going to love this kid and cry when he graduates.”
He still stops by her classroom, sometimes for help, sometimes just to check in.
Outside of school, Lynkon started welding in a backyard shop, learning through trial, error, and curiosity. That interest led him to Pioneer Technology Center, where he developed technical skills and something more important.
Tom Riley, owner of Tomco Metal Fab, noticed him when Pioneer Tech temporarily held classes at his facility.
“He made an impression on me the first day,” Riley said. “Extremely cordial, outgoing. I don’t know if he’s ever met anybody that’s not a friend.”
Lynkon asked questions. He sought feedback. He learned from anyone willing to teach.
His welding improved. But what stood out was everything else.
Work ethic. Respect. Awareness. A willingness to learn.
Those qualities were rooted in the way he was raised.
“My dad’s always been there for me. He’s my ride or die,” Lynkon said of his father, Donnie Davis. “My work ethic comes from him.”
He credits long days working cattle and summers on his uncle’s ranch in Texas, where expectations were clear and respect mattered.
“Yes, sir. No, sir. Yes, ma’am. No, ma’am,” he said. “You get used to that.”
That way of carrying himself opened doors. Ironically, one of them was the wrong classroom at Ponca City High School.
During the first week of orientation through the Wildcat Internship Program, a simple mix-up led Lynkon into the wrong classroom. Instead of leaving, he introduced himself.
It turned into an internship in the school’s STEM building. It wasn’t planned, but it worked.
He showed up, helped where needed, and became someone others could rely on.
“Stop and help with the small things,” Lynkon said. “You never know what’s around the next corner.”
That “next corner” turned out to be Tomco–and Tom Riley.
Riley remembered Lynkon as the student who asked thoughtful questions and actively sought to improve. He offered him a welding job, but quickly saw even greater potential.
“My management staff and I made a decision that we’re going to grow Lynkon into a project manager,” Riley said.
That investment is already underway, including plans for formal coursework and professional development.
“I told him, ‘I’m paying for all this,’” Riley said. “Just to grow him. I trust him to represent my company. I don’t see a ceiling with this young man.”
Lynkon didn’t rush into the opportunity. After balancing high school, Pioneer Tech, and a night job at Homeland, he took a little time to ask himself if he was ready.
Then he said yes.
He realized he had already done the work to get there.
“If you keep working at something,” he said, “you will succeed.”
Lynkon’s journey isn’t about one program, one teacher, or one opportunity. It’s about what can happen when a community pays attention—and follows through.
Ponca City Public Schools
Pioneer Technology Center
The Wildcat Internship Program
Local employers willing to invest in young people
Each played a role.
For Lynkon, those experiences helped turn potential into direction while he was still in high school.
He’s not the only student with that kind of potential. His story shows what’s possible when education, mentorship, and opportunity meet a young person willing to put in the work.
Lynkon Davis will be one of 340 students walking across the stage at Sullins Stadium on Friday, May 22, 2026. The community is invited to celebrate the Class of 2026 and the many futures like his taking shape right here in Ponca City.