Texas Border Business
MCALLEN, TEXAS – Knowledge gained at South Texas College, and his own experience as a civilian paramedic in the Air Force Reserves, have enabled Kyle Flores to find his own path, seeking a hybrid career that blends the best of both worlds, he said.
Working as a paramedic, combined with an affinity for technology and computing, led him to STC because of its online program. Attending courses this way, Kyle said the ability to do classes online was a deciding factor while he balanced two jobs and courses remotely from Fort Worth.
“What I want to do is work on medical devices, and try to make things that are better and easier for paramedics,” he said. “A lot of times we feel we can’t trust the machinery we are working with… and I would like to correct and simplify things to where you can trust what the machine has to say.”
A graduate of STC’s Computer & Information Technologies Program (CITP) in 2020, Flores at the time was named among the top and best by CITP faculty.
Now roughly a year later, Kyle has been accepted into the Online Master of Science Computer Science (OMS CS) at Georgia Tech, and is looking to specialize in interactive intelligence or robotics.
In January 2014, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Udacity and AT&T teamed up to launch the first Master of Science in Computer Science from an accredited university that students can earn exclusively through a “massive online” format.
Over five years, the program has received over 25,000 applications and enrolled more than 10,000 students (including those who have graduated), all working their way toward the same Georgia Tech M.S. in Computer Science.
Kyle said he credits STC instructors for their support as he applied to the program.
“The professors at STC were really wonderful. The one who stood out the most to me though was Nick Hinojosa, who just very perceptive and very responsive with all the emails and questions I had for him. I liked his course the most because it was very much interactive,” Kyle said.
Born in Okinawa, Japan, Kyle said he comes from a military family. His father served in the Marine Corps, his brother served in the Army, and he was inspired by an uncle who served in the Air Force.
His family settled in the United States when Kyle was four, and when he turned 19 he moved to Texas on his own.
Opting to serve in the Air Force, Kyle said he was “2T2” which is Aerial Transportation. During his time in the Air Force Reserves he worked as a civilian paramedic in Central Texas.
Work as a field medic combined the use of technology, which influenced his education and future career choice, he said.
“By balancing my work as a paramedic and computer technology, I feel I can start making my dream come true to work with medical devices and really start improving them,” he said.
Excelling at web programming, faculty say Kyle especially showed a gift for incorporating technologies not taught in the course, which made him a model student.
“Not only does Kyle possess the technical skills to be successful, but he also has excellent interpersonal skills. It was always a pleasure to speak with him and to see his progress throughout the course,” said CITP instructor Nick Hinojosa.
“He possesses the aptitude to succeed in any computing endeavor that he chooses (and) is among the top and the best at South Texas College,” Hinojosa added.
