As students begin to prepare for the upcoming school year, Kyle Viator is getting ready for his new position at SNHU.

Viator, the Assistant Dean of the School of Business and Director of the Three-Year Program, has proudly worked in his department for several years and is ready for a new chapter in his life. On June 25th, he will be transferring to CETA (College of Engineering, Technology, and Aeronautics) where he will become the new Assistant Dean of CETA.

Originally from North Reading, Massachusetts, Viator decided to trek up to SNHU as a member of the Bradley Three-Year Honors Program expressing that the campus “felt like home right away to [him], and it was before all of these nice new buildings, new library and all of that stuff, but it still felt like home.”

When attending SNHU, Viator did not know what his future held. At first he had “wanted to be an accountant… or go into finance,” but when he took his first accounting class he voiced that he “did not like it. So [he] kind of had a crisis of ‘what do I want to do’ and it was working with people and working with students.”

As Viator watched the campus grow both in architecture and in academics, he grew along with it exploring his true passions and strengths.

In his senior year of college he began to work with the previous Director of the Three-Year Program, Ashley Liadis, and became intrigued with helping students. He stated that the graduates assistant position “built up this passion of mine,” as he worked with students to ensure they would succeed with their academic goals.

He is grateful Liadis had taken him “under her wing,” thus leading him to new opportunities such as the Assistant Dean of the School of Business. Working with both students and faculty throughout his years at SNHU, he has gone by a personal slogan of, “value to students, service to faculty.”

Viator remarked that, “It is kind of weird thinking about the days where I would come into the dean’s office looking for a signature not knowing that that office would be my office one day.” This shows just how proud he is of how far he has come since being a student at SNHU.

The Three-Year Programs have always held a special place in Viator’s heart since he was a member of the Bradley Three-Year Honors Program. He claims that it “has been one of the best parts of [his] job, working directly with those populations of students.” Viator loves meeting with these students and not only seeing, “where they are strong, where they are weak and helping them in those areas,” but also watching them grow as individuals. Of watching these students grow, he said, “I loved every second of it.”

Although he has had a wonderful time as the Assistant Dean of the School of Business and the Director of the Three-Year Programs, he acknowledged that it was time for a change. He portrayed that through his transition in position that there has been a mix of emotions. He said, “I am going to miss working with students… that is definitely what I will struggle with the most, [but] at some point we all have to move on from something.”

“I am really looking forward to work with the people over there, do something new,” Viator said when asked about the position of Assistant Dean of CETA. “I am very excited to work with the [CETA] Dean’s team over there. The Dean over there, Yan Xiang, came from China to head the CETA initiative.”

Although he does not officially start until June 25th, he is already working hard to learn more about the next chapter of his life. Viator noted that he is eager “to study up on mechanical engineering, the computer science program that is pretty big, and the aviation program that they just launched,” as well as everything else CETA has to offer.

He noted that “going from working with accounting degree is going to be much different from working with engineering degrees,” but he is prepared to understand those differences to excel in his new position. Viator also conveyed how interested he is to “work with people where their classroom isn’t Webster 205; it’s the SNHU airplane.” He believes that his prior knowledge and “skills as an academic leader and administrator” has truly prepared him for this next step and he is ready for this difference in advising.

Viator expressed the impact CETA has by stating, “STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is kind of where it’s at right now with higher education…that’s why CETA is so important to SNHU.” He also noted that as an alumni member of SNHU, “I am so proud to see this university taking on new programs,” and is glad he has been able to watch this campus grow into the flourishing university it has become.

Viator wanted to share some important advice with all of the students at SNHU. “Do college right the first time so that you set yourself up for the next step in your career.” He also said in regard to classes to “work really hard in it, don’t drop it because it’s a little hard… really work at it.”

To the students at CETA who will be working closer with Viator, he has a few wise words. “Be excited for the journey. [You] are going to be some of the first students to be a part of this initiative that SNHU is putting a lot of time and effort into.”

Viator is enthusiastic towards his future in saying, “I am looking forward to going over and joining the people over there,” as well as his new position as Assistant Dean of CETA. Viator is also eager to work with a new team of Dean’s office employees and everyone is excited to have Viator become a part of their operations and look forward to working with him in the near future.

Leave a Reply