Some might say Kyle Baker is quite the overachiever. While attending Carroll College in Helena, Mont., he started on four national championship football teams and earned All-American three times. He was impressive as a student, and at graduation delivered the class address.
He’s even in the National Football Hall of Fame.
“Then that stopped; but I didn’t,” Baker told Iola High School seniors of his high school experiences.
Baker visited with IHS students Wednesday morning in the lecture hall. He also attended a teacher inservice last week to help boost teacher morale.
“My goal, my mission, is to unleash the power of good that you have within you,” Baker said.
Baker specializes in school culture and leadership development and is the founding director of Peak Collaborative. Peak Collaborative centers on three pillars, leadership, culture and education. He previously worked as program coordinator for the Institute for Excellence & Ethics. While there, he co-authored the Power2Achieve program.
As an exercise for the students, Baker gave each an index card and a sheet of paper. On the index card students were to write what they love. Immediately, the students hunched over their desks and began to write.
Then the year 2026 was displayed on the big screen. Baker then directed students to think of where they want to be in 13 years.
“Thirteen years ago I was a senior in high school and I never thought I’d be where I am today,” he said.
He discussed his role models, his peak experience, adversity and aspirations. He wanted to know what the students’ aspirations were and who they looked up to. The students paired off and talked about what they wrote down.
“Most speakers would have you talk about your aspirations and then run off; but I want to talk about it,” Baker said. “No one gets to choose what’s most important to you.
“You can’t decide what’s most important today, but we can start thinking about it today,” he said.
Baker said students won’t all have the same goals and doesn’t expect the students to be like him.
As the talk came to an end Baker said he wanted the students to use what they had learned.
“If you take the sheet of paper and throw it away, or stuff it in your backpack, this was a waste of your time,” he said. “In order for this to have any meaning, you have to use it.”
Unleash the power Speaker pushes IHS students to full potential
