Hokie Feature: Will Kyle
Coming into college, Will Kyle knew what he wanted to pursue, and Venture Out has allowed him to gain valuable experiences for his career endeavors and personal hobbies.
“I never saw any of this coming. If you told me freshman year this is where I would be as a senior -- about to go to Montana, about to take another trip to Florida, I spent the fall here paddling up the New, that I’d be running a challenge course -- I would have laughed in your face. I think it’s been a really cool journey and I’ve been really lucky to have this opportunity to build myself up, make an impact on VO and Tech, spread my passion for the outdoors, give it to other people and teach it to them with the hopes that they go out and spread it too.”
It’s experiences like a trip to the Everglades and working on a two-year wildland fire crew in Montana that have helped the Challenge Course Supervisor get out as much as he’s put into his extracurricular experiences.
GROWTH THROUGH VENTURE OUT
“It’s been so much more than I ever imagined when I first started. I went from this kid sitting [in meetings] not saying a word, scared to attend meetings, to now running the show. Looking back, I definitely grew up a lot more than I ever expected. I can genuinely say that every person that works there is a good person. I feel like that’s something you don’t really get in your classes or other jobs. I can genuinely say that I have enjoyed working with every single person I’ve worked with at Venture Out.”
Kyle was also a part of the first group of students to be trained as facilitators to the high ropes course.
“It was pretty cool for all of us who had never done something like that before, myself included. To see from the grand opening to a full year of operations, and becoming supervisor and watching it now, it’s come up so far. We’re running sessions every week and it’s only getting more and more popular. It’s been pretty crazy to see it all play out. If you would’ve told me this would’ve happened when I first started working for Venture Out, I would’ve laughed it off.”
JOURNEY TO THE EVERGLADES
Last winter, one of the former VO professionals coordinated a staff trip down to the Everglades in Florida. Unbeknownst to Kyle, this trip would change his outlook on outdoor recreation.
“When I say it was a crazy trip, it was one of the coolest things. It was a group of us for a week. A lot of people think of snakes and gators when they think of the Everglades, but we were camping on lakes and sandy beaches almost every single night. Most people don’t realize that; I didn’t realize that. Coming back from it, we’re all super close friends and it was just an insane experience. Looking back on it now, it was crazy. If I didn’t take that jump and do it, I think where I’m at now would be a lot different.”
“It’s kind of funny because when I came into VO, backpacking was what I had a good amount of experience with and what I kind of wanted to work to become a trip leader in, but that kind of shifted when I went to the Everglades. My mindset shifted to wanting to learn new skills and experience new things, which is something I hadn’t done before.”
“I have truly gotten pushed out of my comfort zone and encouraged to try new things. All of these things literally never would have happened without VO. I look at it now and realize that the time I spent working led to these opportunities and me improving my work ethic and getting to practice my leadership skills, which is very valuable.”
ADVENTURING SOLO
Kyle has really come to love exploring the outdoors on his own.
“It’s a little scary at first, but I spend so much time outside and now I’ve done it so often that it doesn’t phase me as much. You have to take a different mindset on it. If something happens, it’s on you. At the same time, I think it helps me double think what I’m doing. You can ask anyone who does solo trips, to get away is something different. It’s a good reset and really helps give you some ‘you’ time.”
#HokieFeature: Will Kyle | Venture Out Challenge Course Supervisor | Venture Out Trips Leader | Class of 2021
Story written by Emily Dages