Kyle continues succeeding on the journey he chose to pursue while incarcerated: earning a college degree. Upon his release in 2021, he moved in with his parents so he could work on getting a job, a house, and raising his 1-year-old twin sons. Kyle says he knew it would require years of commitment and focus but he was ready for the challenge. And, he was right.
Kyle has come a long way since borrowing $100 from his mother so he could buy a bike and ride 14 miles round-trip to the job he found. He saved every dollar, bought a car, applied to Lakeshore College and in 2022, officially began working toward his goal of earning a college degree. He will graduate in December 2025 with an IT-Cybersecurity Specialist degree—one of the highest paying degrees offered at Lakeshore and a very in-demand field.
Students have opportunities to grow in many different directions while in college. As a first-generation student, meaning his parents did not complete college, Kyle became actively involved in TRIO, a program focusing on helping first-generation, low income, and disabled students navigate college. He also was involved in Student Life and Career Services activities.
Kyle says he saw Lakeshore’s Student Ambassador role as an opportunity to step outside his comfort zone and grow as a leader. His application focused on his work ethic and belief in his ability to influence others to set goals for themselves as he had for himself, despite facing obstacles along the way. Kyle was chosen in spring 2024 to represent Lakeshore for the 2024-25 academic year.
Lakeshore’s Student Ambassador promotes Lakeshore on campus, in the community, among legislators, and at Wisconsin Technical College System events focusing on student recruitment. A $1,250 scholarship is also awarded to the student selected for the role, considered one of the most competitive leadership opportunities at the college.
A Year of Growth & Goals
Activities Kyle enjoyed most while representing Lakeshore as our Student Ambassador include sharing his story at Lakeshore College Foundation meetings, participating in the Emerging Leaders career exploration program, and attending a leadership conference with the 15 other Student Ambassadors from around the state.
“It’s been an overall great experience and really helped me grow as a father, as a student, as a son. It really helped me in life just live a better quality of life with the confidence that came with it. Making that transition from the life I was living to the new life that I’m living now, so it was good overall experience,” says Kyle.
As his ambassadorship winds down this spring, Kyle reflects on his time representing Lakeshore within and outside the college. His goals as ambassador were to bring public awareness about Lakeshore to the community and inspire at least one person. Did he reach his goals?
“I did achieve those goals, specifically within my family. I think I motivated the mother of my children to want to do more as well,” says Kyle.
Kyle has some advice for Lakeshore’s 2025-26 ambassador, Stephanie Mireles: “Be as involved as you can be to the point where it’s not stressful. The more involved that I was, the more confidence I gained and the more I learned.”
In addition, Kyle says he found it’s easy while out and about in daily life to spark up a conversation with someone that wants to do something else with their lives. He also shares the opportunities available at Lakeshore with coworkers at Amerequip in Kiel, where he works full time as a painter.
A main point he likes to drive home to those who doubt they can handle college or don’t enjoy their work:
“Think about the life that you want for yourself. You could actually have a job that you want to go to.”
Creating Generational Change
“As a first-generation college student and father of twin 5-year-old boys, I want to create generational change and inspiration for my boys to pursue their dreams,” says Kyle. He also wants to set an example for his family.
When families aren’t familiar with navigating college, it can be difficult for them to understand what’s involved. Kyle says his family is excited but “cautiously optimistic” about him not just going to college, but finishing. He attempted college twice before enrolling at Lakeshore.
“My mother and father I think will believe it once I graduate,” Kyle says. “It’s more me bringing it up, so I really think they’ll really believe it when I have my diploma on that stage taking a picture, you know, I think it’ll really sink in at that point.” The same goes for his brothers.
Completing his Lakeshore degree will get him closer to reaching future goals: securing a job in cybersecurity, completing bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and acquiring a remote cybersecurity job so he can sail the Great Lakes with his sons. He accomplished his goal to buy a home in fall 2024. He and his boys now live in Mishicot.
Despite the stress that Kyle sometimes experiences juggling fatherhood, work, college, homeownership and activities including his ambassadorship, he is proud to have made the dean’s list most semesters and be on track to graduate in December 2025.
“Resilient” is a trait that has gotten Kyle a long way from where he was just a few years ago, and is sure to continue helping him grow into the person he knows he can be—for himself, his family, and his future.
