CTE Alumni Spotlight: Kylie Dykema

When Kylie Dykema was a child, she loved making digital art. She created pieces on the computer, then printed them on her home printer. Or, at least, she tried to print them. Everyone knows printers are finicky, and Kylie would frequently run into issues getting her art on paper. So, she started taking the printer apart and putting it back together ‘just for fun.’ 

Kylie pursued her interest in digital art at Dexter High School and took Graphic Arts 1 as a freshman. “I fell in love with it,” Kylie says. “Graphic Arts was a perfect blend between design and my passion for executing my mechanical aptitude.” It was during this class that Graphic Arts teacher Dennis Stockwell took her aside and suggested she enroll in the GraphX program. GraphX Academy, which is part of the South & Western Washtenaw Consortium (SWWC), provides skills and experiences for students interested in graphic arts/communications as a possible career or as background for advanced education after high school. Mr. Stockwell suggested to Kylie that graphic design could be a potential career path for her. 

Kylie says that while she struggled academically in school, graphics came naturally to her. Stockwell’s words were the first to make Kylie feel hopeful about her future. By her senior year, she was taking GraphX and acting as an unofficial student teacher for Stockwell’s Graphic Arts 1 & 2 classes. “Mr. Stockwell told me I had a real talent for teaching,” reflects Kylie, “and that I should consider going to college to become a Graphic Communications CTE Instructor. This was the first time a teacher had told me I could be successful.”

After two years in GraphX Academy, gaining experience by shadowing employees at two printing companies, and traveling to Chicago for print expos, Kylie’s future path came into focus. After she graduated from DHS in 2008, she attended Ferris State University, and completed both an associate degree in Digital Imaging and Printing, and a bachelor’s in Career and Technical Education in four years. She graduated in 2012 on the Dean’s List and was awarded a full-ride scholarship in her senior year. 

Upon graduation from Ferris State, Kylie was hired at ICON Sign company in Grand Rapids. She started as an executive assistant, and was quickly promoted to Office Manager. “I became the owner’s right-hand woman,” she says, “working with large clients such as ArtPrize, Subway, Independent Bank, Chow Hound, Founders Brewing, and others.” 

After three years with ICON Sign, Kylie was recruited by Amway Global as a process trainer and technical writer. She documented the training processes in their printing department and created a color management course that press operators had to complete successfully in order to operate one of the newest and fastest presses available at the time. Less than a year after starting at Amway, the owner of ICON Sign passed away unexpectedly, and Kylie left Amway to help the family transition to a new owner. During this period, she completed her student teaching at Kent Career Tech Center (KCTC) and was offered an instructor position. She will celebrate her tenth year of teaching at KCTC next year.

When asked why she became a teacher, Kylie shared that she wants to provide students like herself with a whole new perspective on their future. She also wants to carry on the legacies of two very special and influential mentors: Dennis Stockwell and James Mikrut (founder of ICON Sign).

“Stockwell saved my life,” Kylie declares. “I know that sounds dramatic, but he showed me alternative career paths I didn’t even know existed. He provided first-hand experience in a field for which I was, and still am, so passionate.

“James, my Boss at ICON, further fed my love of Graphics,” she continues. “He showed me just how big the world of design and print really is.”

Kylie says the most rewarding part of teaching is watching her students fall in love with Graphics the same way she did. “I am still in touch with many former students who are ‘making their own waves’ in the Graphics industry. It is so incredible to see life go full circle.”

To Dexter students who are contemplating college and career plans, Kylie advises: “Don’t say no to opportunities that don’t exactly fit your plan. You have no idea where those opportunities can lead or how they can prepare you for the future. Take life in stepping stones, reevaluate every six months and never stop going after your end goal, no matter how many different paths you explore.” 

For students considering the graphic arts/communications field: “If you want to be a great designer, learn and absorb everything you can on the print side of the industry. It will make you incredibly valuable [to employers].”

Kylie has only the highest praise and respect for the teacher who inspired her to pursue her passion. “I have told him a million times, but he will never truly understand how much his class and he, himself, saved my life,” shares Kylie. “I started in Graphic Communications at age fourteen and I can proudly say I have been in this industry for twenty years, over half of my life.”

“If I can help even one student the way Mr. Stockwell helped me, my life will have more purpose than I could have ever dreamed.”