“Having the option to go to Tolles Career & Technical Center; to find my own path and do what I wanted to do, made all the difference,” said Sean Morrill of the Hilliard City Schools experience.
Morrill, a 2014 graduate of Davidson High School, has taken the restaurant industry by storm. After graduating high school, he earned a degree in Food Business Management and Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Just as he did in his time at Tolles, where he competed in cooking competitions at the local, state and national levels, he took advantage of every opportunity presented to him at the Culinary Institute. This led to his being awarded the Founders Management Award and the Craig Claiborne Communications Award.
After college, he went to work for J. Alexander’s, a contemporary American restaurant known for its wood-fired cuisine. With nearly 50 restaurants in 16 states, Morrill had the chance to work at the restaurant’s Lexington, Kentucky, and Cincinnati and Columbus locations before he decided to branch out. His next move took him to Boston, Massachusetts, where he served as the General Manager of Banyan Bar + Refuge, a Pan-Asian small plates restaurant in the city’s south end. And, effective in January of this year, he was promoted to Director of Operations for The Gallows Group where he oversees the general managers and executive chefs for the company’s four restaurants and their multiple locations.
“Not everyone’s academic or career path is going to take them to college. While at Hilliard, I felt supported in my decision to go in a different direction, especially by Liz Hummel, my family and consumer science teacher,” he said.
Morrill also said the district does a good job of helping students who attend Tolles feel connected to their home school.
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