Kyle Leiker, RA

After knocking out his AREs and logging his IDP hours, it’s official: Kyle Leiker is a registered architect.

A true urban dweller, he has spent time living and working in New York City and Washington D.C., and now calls Kansas City’s Westside neighborhood home. He joined Helix in 2018 and recently wrapped construction administration for the new Student Residence Hall + Wylie Dining Center at the Kansas City Art Institute.

To mark the accomplishment of passing his final exams, we asked Kyle a few questions about the process and what’s next for him.

A: I would turn on jazz music in the evenings and then eventually put in ear plugs so that I could focus. Most nights I would reward myself for studying by ending with a glass of scotch.

A: I enjoyed practice management and contracts. These both affect my daily work, though in my role I rarely am directly involved in these matters, so for me it was getting to pull back the curtain a little bit.

A: My favorite playlist was the sound of my children playing quietly upstairs. Since that almost never happened, it was usually ear plugs and silence.

A: Catching up on all of the things that I didn’t get done over the last year (sorry Andrea!).

A: My kids played a huge part in this process, encouraging me along the way, so I let them choose how we celebrate. We ate pizza on the couch and watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

A: Make testing your priority if this is what you want to do. Plans and life will shift along the way, so be flexible with your expectations and don’t rush through it.