In a recent interview, I had the chance to chat with Kyle Boyle, El Pomar’s IT & Media Specialist, and Fellowship Alum of the Class of 2018. Our discussion shed light on his career trajectory and the path that led him to his current role.
Kyle’s collegiate journey started with a business management major at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs without a clear goal in mind.
“I really had no idea what I wanted to do, I was pretty much open to anything,” he said.
This decision stemmed from his desire for a versatile major that would expose him to various aspects of business without pigeonholing him into any specific field. In high school, Kyle had volunteered at his local radio station, hosting his own show every Monday night, known to listeners as “Classic Rock Kyle.” He reflected on this time fondly and mentioned it directly led to his job of managing the UCCS radio station throughout all four years of college.
“I probably learned just as much, if not more, through that experience than actual coursework,” he said.
His role helped hone his skills in management, budgeting, and event coordination – providing an invaluable hands-on experience that complemented his academic studies.
Kyle’s transition from college to the workforce was marked by an internship at the United States Automobile Association (USAA), a company he greatly admired and was connected to through his family. Initially feeling like he had landed his dream job, Kyle discovered that working in a call center environment was not aligned with his strengths or passions. Kyle considered the experience a humbling one.
“It’s just as important to know what you are not good at and what you are not passionate about, in order to figure out what your career goals should be,” he said.
El Pomar’s Fellowship emerged as a new possibility for Kyle after he decided to leave USAA. Encouraged by a mentor and his now wife, Cheyenne, he applied despite initial doubts about meeting the application deadline in two days. To his surprise and delight, he was accepted into the Fellowship.
“I was not a natural at everything, but the environment and expectations of respect, integrity, teamwork, and excellence – all of that felt very natural and more comfortable to me than what I had been doing the previous year,” he said.
Throughout the Fellowship, Kyle excelled in his various roles and programs, drawing on his background in business management and radio broadcasting. He was already apprehensive about the Fellowship ending.
“All I could remember telling myself over and over was, this is going to be such a bummer in a year and a half when I have to find another job,” he said while laughing.
But maybe he wouldn’t have to leave after all.
He described himself as “always a bit of a computer nerd,” immersed in the technology world and tinkering with computers. After meeting Dave Miller, El Pomar’s Vice President of IT, and bonding over shared interests in tech, Kyle started working with him behind the scenes to resolve computer problems. One day, Kyle received an email from the Fellowship Director setting up a meeting with him and Dave to discuss an “interesting opportunity.”
In the second year of his Fellowship, Kyle rolled off most of his programs to support Dave in a trial run of a new job.
“If I liked it, if the Foundation liked it, and we both thought it was a good relationship, then perhaps there would be opportunity for employment after the fact,” he said.
At the end of his two years in the Fellowship, including the trial support role dedicated to IT, he transitioned into a full-time staff member at El Pomar. In his current role, Kyle wears many hats, supporting staff members with IT-related issues while also managing media technology needs in Communications , such as video production, photography, and web/digital marketing platforms Foundation-wide.
Kyle said his day-to-day ranges from requests about employee’s computers making “very loud, scary beeping sounds,” to large strategic efforts. He finds fulfillment in the dynamic nature of his job, which allows him to continually learn and grow while making meaningful contributions to the Foundation.
In his free time, Kyle enjoys leading a Dungeons and Dragons group with his friends, synthesizing many elements into a multimedia experience to tell fantastic stories. The game comes with a lot of preparation – what should the lighting be like, what music should be in the background – all to create a total experience for the players. He compared this experience to his work on the AFE program.
“Eight months of work to make a three-minute video, it’s all worth it to see the reactions of attendees, a goosebumps moment for sure,” he said.
What came up most in our conversation was the importance of keeping an open mind. Right before the end of our interview, Kyle offered his own advice.
“Don’t go into anything with the expectation that it’s going to go a certain way, try to absorb every nugget of wisdom and experience you can. You might discover a talent or a passion that you never knew existed.”
