Never one to shy away from pushing boundaries as a lifelong learner and an educator, Kevin Kepple was living in the Philippines with his wife, Joji, while enrolled in Boise State University’s online Master of Science in Organizational Performance and Workplace Leadership (OPWL).
“It was a challenge at times with group projects, figuring out the times and schedules,” he said. “We made it work. It was extremely useful being online.
“There were some teammates on the east coast, some on the west coast, in other parts of Thailand and the world. Being able to have that flexibility, to look at each other’s calendars and come up with a time that worked for everybody, was really helpful to get things rolling.”
The decision to switch gears after teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in China for four years paid off. Through one of his online classmates, Kepple landed a role as an instructional designer for the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University after graduation.
“I looked at a couple of other master’s programs, but this one was more affordable and seemed to give you options in terms of what you could do with your degree afterwards,” he said. “It wasn’t specifically focused on instructional design or project management.
“It covers a broad spectrum of things, so I went with Boise State. I liked the idea that we had a lot of real-world projects working with real clients. That was helpful in getting our feet wet and experiencing that type of environment.”
Kepple, who worked for Rumie, a Toronto-based e-learning provider, and held several instructional design consultant positions as a freelancer while enrolled, also won Boise State’s OPWL Professional Growth Award.
“I was surprised to get any award, because I think everyone in that program works extremely hard,” he said. “Within my networking and joining organizations, that’s something I had not focused on at all, even in my previous programs.
“Being focused on my LinkedIn, trying to grow that network and trying to become part of different organizations that fit different areas I am interested in really helped me map out my direction and where I want to go professionally. It was extremely useful to get tips from the Boise State faculty.”
Increasing knowledge
Kepple is from Carbondale, Illinois, and earned a pair of bachelor’s degrees from Southern Illinois University in general studies (2003) and English (2008).
“With that first degree, I had no idea what I wanted to do,” he said. “Once I finished enough credit hours for a bachelor of science, I said, ‘Okay.’ Taking a couple of years off to refocus on what I enjoy doing really helped me discover I like to be creative and to write. It came in handy when I spent four years teaching ESL, beginning in 2017.”
Prior to enrolling at Boise State, Kepple also completed a Master of Advanced Study in Film and Media Studies at Arizona State University in 2021.
“COVID-19 kicked off while I was overseas,” he said. “I was spending a lot of time inside doing nothing, so I thought I should make use of the time. I started researching programs online, which was how I got involved with Arizona State.
“That was so interesting to me, and I felt like I really accomplished something, so I wanted to pursue more education outside of that. I was looking for something that would coincide with my previous experience, plus new territory for me to explore.”
In addition to learning about e-authoring tools and learning management systems, Kepple especially enjoyed Yonnie Chyung’s Evaluation class.
“When I first saw that class, I thought, ‘This is something I don’t know how to do. There’s no way I can get through this course,’” he said. “She was so helpful, taking a step-by-step approach and helping every team and every student understand what direction to go.
“I found that was true with all of the professors; everybody was very accommodating. Any time you needed anything, they were always available to walk you through your questions.”
In fact, Kepple said that more than one faculty member went above and beyond in their support of his academic and professional journeys, highlighting the networking element of the OPWL program.
“Jelena Pokimica offered me a graduate assistant position to give me valuable experience in using Canvas,” he said. “Pokimica, Chyung and Rafael Leonardo da Silva were all instrumental in providing me letters of recommendation, resulting in getting accepted in a doctoral program at Northern Illinois University and being offered the instructional design position at Texas A&M.”
On Texas time
Kepple is excited to see the information that he learned in the OPWL program apply to his new role in College Station.
“A month or two ago, we had a team meeting where we took an entire day to focus on a topic,” he said. “We used some of the organizational performance knowledge in our meeting to analyze where we were at with performance problems with our training and how our team functions.
“It was cool to bring that in because a lot of people did not understand the process. Everybody enjoyed it, and it got us on that path of creating projects to improve the current team and their process. It was really applicable.”
It didn’t take Kepple long to pick up his higher education where he left off. One month after graduation from Boise State, he enrolled in a doctoral program in educational and instructional technology at Northern Illinois University.
“Jie Chen, a former student of Boise State and board member of the International Society for Performance Improvement Bay Area/Boise State (ISPI BABS), served as a great mentor and resource offering me experience as the marketing board member of ISPI BABS,” he said.
Kepple hopes to channel his degree and real-world experience into achieving his next career goal.
“I would eventually like to work for a company that makes the tools that help people create e-learning,” he said. “I’ve also thought about going back into teaching. Higher ed or ed tech.
“I feel a lot more confident in myself and knowing I can do this. When my boss talks about things, now I know what she’s talking about. The degree has opened some doors, too. I had not previously been to any professional conferences. I was able to go to a Canva Connect conference a few months ago.”
Once Kepple adjusted to learning a new discipline as an OPWL student at Boise State, he was off and running.
“The most challenging aspect for me was to put that idea of imposter syndrome aside,” he said. “I was intimidated by my peers when I came in, because a lot of them were already professionals. Being able to work side by side with them was useful.
“I gained insight into their experiences, which helped me develop my own habits and processes of thinking. Be open-minded. Don’t close yourself off. Those people are resources, too, like I found out later on when one of them (Sam Wilson) helped me get a job.”
Learn more about the Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning program
Earning an online Master of Science in Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning from Boise State University can open doors to new opportunities and a brighter future — and we’re here to support you every step of the way. Whether you’re exploring if an online degree is right for you or need help transferring credits, connecting with a student success coach is the perfect first step.
Ready to learn more? Attend one of our online information sessions or contact a student success coach today.