Beyond Kent: Stories of Community and Purpose

Beyond Kent is a new alumni spotlight series featuring Kent School graduates who carry the School’s Mission into the wider world, contributing to the common good. Each story celebrates engaged citizens living with purpose, strengthening the communities they serve, and making an impact locally and beyond. 

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Alumni Spotlight: Kevin Chu '10

Kevin Chu '10 is the Executive Director of the Vermont Futures Project, a nonprofit focused on research and education to help create a thriving future for the state. After graduating from Kent, Kevin returned to his home state and attended Middlebury College, where he majored in Environmental Studies and was a member of the track and field team. At Middlebury, he was a three-time NESCAC champion in the 110m hurdles and 4x100m relay, NCAA Qualifier, and still holds the school record for the 60m hurdles. When he’s not working to help Vermont prosper, Kevin develops jumpers as an assistant track and field coach at Middlebury College. 

The motto I live by is “Move forward. Give back.” I'm the beneficiary of a lot of generosity and opportunities that were made available to me and my family, and I am trying to pay that forward by making sure that the same level of opportunity is available today and for the next generation.

 

What inspired you to pursue a Postgraduate year at Kent?

I didn't even know that a PG year was an option until one of my assistant coaches for soccer at Burlington High School mentioned the idea, and specifically Kent School. The more I learned about it, the more it felt like the right step for me to take, as I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do after high school and what I wanted to do in terms of my athletic and academic careers, both of those things in tandem. So it all came from one personal connection and a side conversation after practice. It was someone who believed in me and saw potential for me to go on and play at the next level. It also gave me a chance to take classes that weren't available at my public school.

What are some of the highlights of your year at Kent?

I was just so amazed at how welcoming everyone was. And this goes beyond just my teammates or my teachers, but other students as well. I was really struck by that generosity and curiosity. 

When you were still in college, you launched Sprinticity, a community-based track club for people of all ages. What motivated you to do that?

Sprinticity started off as an entrepreneurial project for a program called middCORE while I was at Middlebury College. It was a one-month-long intensive program on entrepreneurship leadership. As I looked around at the landscape of the running community post-college, most of what I found was distance running. I created Sprinticity with the idea that sprinting can be a lifelong endeavor. The really fun part about growing and developing that brand was that, quickly, I was able to create a community for people who had been former sprinters. We would have training sessions with kids as young as 10 and 80-year-olds all together playing. That, to me, was so special. 

As the program grew, it was very successful in competition. What do you attribute that to?

We had quite a bit of success as a team at the regional level, winning the Club New England Championship, either indoor or outdoor, for four straight years, and even had a few athletes qualify for the USA Track and Field National Club Championship. It comes back to this idea of opportunity — you just have to give people a chance. A lot of talent is looking for that chance to express itself, and that's what we were able to build.

After graduating from college, you worked at the University of Vermont (UVM) in several departments – Admissions, Advising, Communications, and Engagement. What did you learn in those jobs about building and strengthening community, both at UVM and in the local community? 

Working in Admissions gave me insight into the critical role that a university plays in attracting talent to a place. I then transitioned to a role in academic advising. So, I went from bringing in talent to helping develop it, and helping students connect with internships and job opportunities, to help them start thinking about putting their education into action. That solidified the sense of stewardship that a university plays in broader economic development. I did some work with [UVM’s] Rubenstein School for Environment and Natural Resources, leading their communications, and also helped to lead a strategic planning process. Then I joined the Office of Engagement, [and helped with] a new effort to create better relationships with community partners and businesses, not only to help place student interns and strengthen community connections, but also to position ourselves as the university for Vermont. Whether it's equipment or research expertise, if there's knowledge at the university that can help a local business or entrepreneur, those are the types of relationships that I helped create through that work.

You’ve been the Executive Director of the Vermont Futures Project for five years. Can you explain what the organization does?

The way I like to describe it is that we get to ask, 'What does Vermont want to be when it grows up?' We assess the current state — that's the data piece of it. And then we listen: what are the goals, what are the dreams and ambitions of Vermonters? The way that we get to that long-term goal for the state of Vermont is to build consensus and buy-in towards a collective target. It can't be the sole responsibility of any single individual or organization. It's not just a government pursuit. It's not just the business community. It has to be everyone working in tandem as a team — Team Vermont. And we have to have that belief. We have to have that guiding target as a North Star, and we have to understand why.

In creating the Futures Project’s strategic plan, you travelled all around the state and spoke to thousands of people. What did you learn?

What I would often try to understand is, what are the challenges that people are facing? What are the barriers, but more importantly, what are their hopes, dreams, and ambitions for the future? What do they want for themselves and their community in 10, 15 years? What do they want for their children? What do they want for the next generation? And if the data show that we're trending away from that aspirational vision, then that's where we can create the recommendations for how to get back on track. The proposal put forth in the Vermont Economic Action Plan is that we can sustain what we have now through intentional growth, increasing the population, increasing housing, growing the grand list, and that is a viable, sustainable solution for long-term or community vitality.

What do you find most meaningful about your work?

The goal of the Futures Project is really around opportunity. The reason why it takes on such meaning in my own life is that my parents immigrated to Vermont, of all places, back in 1986. Neither of them spoke English when they arrived, neither of them had a college degree, and they were still able to find ways to make it work. They found an opportunity. They were able to realize their American dream, purchase a home, and raise three boys. I feel so strongly that what they were able to accomplish is just beyond amazing, and it may not be as probable now as it was 30 years ago. So my work is really focused on how we make sure that opportunity continues to be part of Vermont's story, not only today, but also moving forward into the future.

You serve on the Board of Trustees for both Champlain College and the University of Vermont Medical Center. Can you tell us about those roles?

The trustee positions really help me tie what I'm doing with the Futures Project to very tangible institutions in the community. This is part of me giving back. That's certainly part of why I say yes to these opportunities, but it also helps me to understand the ins and outs, the mission-driven work that's happening to move Vermont in a direction that aligns with the Economic Action Plan. This is also something that's very special and unique about Vermont — for young professionals who are in this network, this ecosystem, they have access to these incredible leadership opportunities that they may not find elsewhere. 

What advice can you offer to a Kent student thinking about what comes next? 

One of the things I want to communicate to Kent students is not being afraid of things they don't know and being willing to learn. I took a leap of faith, right? This path to do a PG year – it was not a path many people at my high school even knew about or pursued. When I went to Kent, I was taking charge of my destiny, my education, and making a choice that wasn't guaranteed to be successful, or at least it felt very uncertain at the time. But sometimes that is what needs to happen — take a little bit of risk — and there can be amazing rewards that come from it. I carry that attitude forward. One of the phrases I will often say to the athletes that I coach, as they're graduating from Middlebury and getting ready for the next phase of their life, I tell them that uncertainty is opportunity in disguise.