Alumni Spotlight - Kyle Evans

Story by Ashley Plys, a sophomore pursuing a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a SOM student marketing assistant.

 

Kyle poses with cat after his graduation from UAF
Kyle poses with cat after his graduation from UAF


 

HSEM alumnus Kyle Evans graduated from UAF in 2018 with a Bachelor of Security and Emergency Management with a concentration in emergency medical management. He went on to graduate from the UAF homeland security and emergency management master’s program in 2020. Kyle currently works as a senior design engineer for a defense contracting organization. We recently spoke to Kyle to get his perspective on his SOM experience.



Kyle began college with a full scholarship from Ford, but during his apprenticeship, he realized he would prefer to work on cars as a hobby rather than a profession. Like many college students, Kyle tried a few different majors, including mechanical engineering and criminal justice, before finding his passion for HSEM. “Ignoring the advice of my advisor at UAF,” Kyle said, “I tried a little bit of everything, plus took a random EMT class for fun. After my first EMT class, I was hooked on HSEM.”

In addition to stumbling upon his new major, Kyle found it favorable that HSEM was the only available online degree program at the time. He had joined the Air Force and was unable to attend in-person courses. Despite waking up early or staying up late when traveling, he appreciated the convenience of watching recorded streams of in-person lectures. Kyle felt the most significant hurdle for him was keeping track of deadlines, lectures, and schedules through a multitude of time zones.

 

Kyle with a Seized ZPU-1 anti-aircraft gun and a Nanook beanie!
Kyle with a Seized ZPU-1 anti-aircraft gun and a Nanook beanie!


 

Kyle shared his experiences with HSEM instructors. One of his favorite instructors was Cameron Carlson. Dr. Carlson gives every student his attention and he made Kyle feel especially valued even though he was not attending in-person classes. Kyle also mentioned Sean McGee as an outstanding instructor. Kyle said that Sean can connect with students on a personal level while sharing an immense amount of knowledge and professional experience.

SOM contributed to Kyle’s professional development, and combined with his Air Force experience, he has been hired by two defense contracting organizations for his skill set and education. He has had the opportunity to travel the world and serve in key roles such as a subject matter expert on aviation projects, deputy site lead, training instructor, and aircrew. Kyle advises students to “Keep pushing. Even if you only have enough time to take one class a semester, progress is progress.”