2022 - Take Five With…Kyla Wegman

Have you met Kyla? Kyla Wegman, EdD, joined ECC in 2021 as the associate dean of sustainability, business, and career technologies. This past year, she transitioned to the dean of college transitions and secondary partnerships!

Wegman was born and raised in California. Before ECC, she was a faculty member at a community college in the San Francisco Bay Area before making her way to Elgin and her first winter.

Take a fast five today to learn a little more about Dean Wegman.  

What should your colleagues know about your position at ECC? Well, it’s my few months in this new role, so I’m still learning about it myself. Still, I am so excited about College Transitions & Secondary Partnerships’ focus on increasing access, support, and success for students as early as middle school. Our wide range of programs, including Early College Credit, Dual Credit, Upward Bound, Talent Search, and College Success and Student Development courses, allow us to holistically support students from their initial college exploration to submitting college applications, applying for financial aid, enrolling in and completing their college coursework, and fostering career readiness. Ultimately, my role is to support these incredible programs and my colleagues who make such a positive and meaningful impact on students and families in our community. 

If you could instantly be an expert at one thing, what would you choose? I love working on projects around my house and being handy, but my skills are pretty limited. I would love to be a skilled carpenter, electrician, and jack-of-all-trades.

What was your first ever job? I bagged groceries at a local grocery store in high school. I’ve probably asked, “paper or plastic?” over a million times, but I look back on that job with such fondness.

Binge watcher, book club, or both? Both! I recently joined a book club and am also notorious for reading the book after binge-watching a show (e.g., Big Little Lies, The Undoing, and Mindhunter). 

Cats, dogs, or house plants? I love both cats and dogs but am sadly quite allergic. So, houseplants are my pets! I absolutely love tending to and discovering new plants and am always happy to chat about fiddle leaf figs, pothos plants, succulents, and more.