Meet Kyle – Our New Full Stack Engineer

Welcome Sign
May 14, 2020

Hi, I’m Kyle, the latest developer to join the Syncta team. I live with my wife of almost nine years and our three children just south of Indianapolis, IN, where I was born and have lived for all but two years of my life (which were spent in Pensacola, FL).

Growing up, I was the stereotypical “smart kid” – a bookworm, video game enthusiast, mathlete, and spell bowl contestant. I never knew what career I wanted to pursue, and entertained both architecture and engineering paths before a beloved Math teacher pointed me toward actuarial science (it’s basically probability and statistics with a practical business angle, employed mostly by insurance companies). After graduation, I attended Butler University because they offered an Actuarial Science program and I could commute from home. While there, I considered double majoring in Education as well, but I graduated with just the Bachelor’s in Actuarial Science. I got an internship at a company in downtown Indy, and worked there during my senior year, then for three more years as an Actuarial Student. The process of becoming a fully accredited actuary is quite involved, and along the way I began to lose interest in the work I was doing. When we had our first child, I decided it was time to leave that career behind.

I took the opportunity of not having a full-time job to pursue some Biblical studies in Pensacola, FL, at a very small school with connections to my local congregation. After completing those studies and moving back to Indiana, I found an analyst position where I was frequently using Excel, and I began writing macros again (which had been a part of the actuarial work I did enjoy). It was through this experience that I finally connected the dots and realized that what I love doing is programming. Specifically, I love automating things and making people’s jobs easier by having computers do most of the work. So, I set about to actually learn programming, found and completed an online program from a company called Microverse, and after getting a couple entry-level positions under my belt, here I am ready to put my skills to use improving the Syncta application.

Outside of work, my wife and I are busy raising (and homeschooling) our children. We like board games, going to outdoor concerts, and traveling. Our goal is to take the kids to see all 50 states before they move out. Our oldest is 6, so we have some time, but it goes fast! Finally, we’re big fans of Halloween, so much that I even proposed to my wife on Halloween night after watching Halloween 2. We spend the whole month of October every year getting our house ready for a one-night haunted house for the trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood. It’s tons of work, and a lot of fun!

I’m excited to be a part of the Syncta family, and the larger Watts organization. I look forward to helping improve the product and services we offer and making things easier for everyone involved.