1st Decade Look Back- Where are they now?
Kyle McNicoll is a graduate of the first GCSEN Foundation Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp at Wheaton College in 2016. Since then, he's spent time in many different jobs and locales, landing eventually in Las Vegas, Nevada, as a fraud analyst at Barclays. What was his journey like and what impact did GCSEN have?
In 2022, GCSEN published a white paper about the Career Return on Investment (ROI) approach for identifying the benefits of student entrepreneur training and skillset building in terms of broad career outcomes. Kyle was one of the case studies, as his winding path through success in all kinds of jobs is a great example of someone who applies the 4P Social Entrepreneurship ideals to non-entrepreneur roles.
Kyle told us, “GCSEN provides a 100 percent value to students such as myself who have followed a more traditional career path in both the ability to get hired, and perform at a high level. I've talked about my experience with GCSEN during every job interview. GCSEN’s Boot Camp helps students see through a business structure to its actual ‘why’ and allows graduates to understand the core mission of any business during those critical introductory steps. Once hired, GCSEN’s graduates quickly rise to leadership positions due to the fact they can apply intrapreneurial skills to better assist the company’s overall mission with the provided resources at hand.”
Kyle has an amazingly varied resume: "My career has taken many twists and turns including working as an EMT, SEO Optimizer, and working on two startups, Bio Lids and Puppy Love. In 2020, I had a real 'Get to Wow!' moment when working as the Deputy Data Director on the Democratic Georgia Coordinated Campaign, I saw how my intense efforts helped flip the state blue for Biden, securing the presidential election and two V.S. Senate seats. Later, I worked for GCSEN for a while and I also taught at an inner city school for three years."
Kyle and his wife Perle, above, were instrumental in the success of GCSEN's 2023 Veteran's Day Celebration. Now, Kyle is "married in Las Vegas with the dream wife, dream dogs, and dream house!"
He still reflects fondly on his days with GCSEN and the lessons he learned. "My time with Mike and GCSEN helped shape how I think about business—not just as a vehicle for profit, but as a powerful force for purpose. It introduced me to the idea that you can build something that makes meaning and money. That perspective has influenced every career decision I've made since. It’s about creating impact, not just income."
Our alumni are the heart of GCSEN- we love to hear their stories and will continue to highlight them as we continue to celebrate our tenth anniversary!
