Kyle Roughan hopes he can connect students with opportunities beyond the classroom as Lincoln Land’s Student Engagement Coordinator.

Beginning in June 2021, Roughan’s job is to help students discover what they are passionate about and how to get involved in those passions. He is also largely involved in student clubs, activities and events.

“Students don’t really think of doing [extracurricular activities] when they come to community college,” Roughan said.

Roughan was a community college student himself, so he said he understands that mindset.

From northeastern Connecticut. Roughan started his education at Three Rivers Community College and transferred to Eastern Connecticut State University to complete his undergrad.

Roughan hopes all students have what he calls the “aha moment”, where they realize their activities outside of school can contribute to their careers and life goals.

“What I did outside of the classroom was as beneficial, if not more, than what I did in the classroom,” Said Roughan.

Roughan chose his career based on experiences beyond the classroom. He started out studying psychology but later changed his undergrad major to sociology, with a minor in women and gender studies. He wanted to be a teacher at first, but when he accepted a student worker position as a resident assistant, it marked another major turning point in his career.

“Be open to changing your trajectory. Explore. Don’t think you have everything figured out. If you have to, take a semester or two to figure yourself out. I can pinpoint the moments in my life where things changed drastically, so I encourage people to never say no permanently.”

Roughan went on to earn his graduate degree at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Arkansas, and then worked at University of Illinois Springfield as their Student Resident Director before coming to Lincoln Land.

As Student Engagement Coordinator, his duty is to connect students to people and activities that can further their careers during and after college. The four main areas of focus for his department are: Overseeing the 30-plus student clubs on campus, coordinating the food pantry for students in need, connecting students to leadership and volunteering opportunities on and off campus, and coordinating college programs outside of classroom activities.

“Don’t just come to class and then leave immediately. There’s a lot more on offer at any college,” Roughan said.

Another huge goal of Roughan is building recognition. Many students don’t know about Student :ife or that Student Life can help them.

He said if he himself cannot help students, he “wants to be the person who knows who to connect students to.”

He said, “The biggest thing students overlook is there is so much more to college than what four walls in a classroom can give you.”