The RA community at Salve is made up of some of the most diverse and dedicated students that we have to offer. They embody the very definition of Salve Regina University, which, to students, means being involved in so many clubs and activities that it would be easier to name the things they are not a part of.
Enter: Kyle McGuire. A sophomore and first year RA, Kyle is pursuing a Biology major and Chemistry minor, but that’s only the beginning. He is also a CAB director, equestrian, singer, songwriter, actor, percussionist, blogger, and Taylor Swift enthusiast. As an explanation for having so many interests, McGuire said “I can’t say no to things.”
Kyle is an RA in Walgreen Hall where he has already built a very close-knit relationship with his freshmen residents. He beamed about a program he will be hosting in a few weeks which will involve watching the movie Elf while making Christmas cards for a local nursing home.
“I was taught from a young age that leadership isn’t guiding, it’s more of going with somebody to do something,” said McGuire. That being said, he takes a lot of pride in accomplishing goals with his residents rather than just providing tools for them. It is important for him to make everything a learning experience, something he hopes his residents will look back on and appreciate.
In the future, Kyle wants to work in rehabilitation with patients who could benefit from using horses in therapy. To get there, he plans on earning a Master’s degree in rehabilitative counseling and a PhD focusing on holistic medicine, which, of course, is nothing he can’t handle. McGuire welcomes challenges with open arms, saying that when he is faced with one it’s because “somebody must think that I’m capable.”
Science is not all that McGuire sees in store for himself in the future. “If I could do it forever I would live on a stage and just constantly play different characters,” he said. Though he has not had the time to pursue acting and performing recently, he is always in a theatrical mindset and plans on getting back into it as soon as possible.
When he doesn’t have time for an actual performance, Kyle turns to writing as his creative outlet. “Whatever I do, I always reflect back in the form of writing,” he said. His blog, “The Kyle Lifestyle,” is full of song lyrics, backstories, and other posts reflecting on little tidbits of life.
One of his most recent songs featured in the blog is called “Butterflies.” In this song, he describes the nervousness of meeting someone for the first time and falling in love, and he carries the love story all the way to the moment the bride is walking down the aisle. “You can feel nervous about something but that’s a good thing because that means you care,” he said; “When it happens right, the butterflies that you feel are just the beginning of a relationship taking flight.”
Kyle plays the piano, which he uses for his songwriting, and wants to learn how to play the guitar. “I was that band kid,” he said of his high school self. He was a competitive percussionist in the marching band and played the marimba, however, these aren’t likely elements that you will find in his own music.
Instead, McGuire’s music channels a certain teen-country-sweetheart-becomes-pop-sensation artist, and you know exactly who that is. “Taylor Swift is my homegirl,” he said. In fact, he alluded to the possibility of a mashup with TSwift’s song “Long Live” that might (hopefully) debut on his blog in the near future.
“She has kept it together and she has stayed classy and she stayed professional and she’s the CEO of her own company,” he said of his love for Taylor, “but she’s also flipping gorgeous and can slay.”
Though he doesn’t sing his own music live (“yet!”), he is most concerned with the message his lyrics portray. His songs have a pop feel to them but he describes them as having “country lyric” in that they are drawn out and have a story to tell that his audience can relate to. “That’s my goal,” he says, “just to get the words to stick to somebody.”
Dying to know more about Kyle McGuire or his music? Follow the link to check out his blog:
