Driven by a desire to understand what it truly means to care, Kyle Brogan left acting to become a support worker for elementary school students. While he dreams of creating a new role within the school, he currently empowers kids to embrace their personal stories and become the authors of their own lives through trust and leadership.

By Tanta Siriporn Na Rajasima and Maggie Clark, Marketing and Communications

Before entering the child and youth care field, Kyle Brogan loved the world of acting. For him, acting wasn’t just about performance, but about analyzing people and learning what made them tick. But when the COVID-19 pandemic halted the film industry and auditions, Kyle began searching for a new purpose.

During this time, Kyle’s wife, a support worker for the Surrey School District and a Douglas College Psychology grad, played a pivotal role in his career transition. Inspired by her work with a young adult with autism, he decided to explore the field himself.

He posted in a Facebook autism support group, seeking information about how to get into the industry and was soon overwhelmed by over 70 responses. Among them was a behaviour consultant who was willing to help him start this career, teaching him about the role and helping secure a job for him at TLA Online, the school where he currently works. There, he began working with an autistic teenager on life and social skills development.

As his passion grew, Kyle decided to formalize his knowledge and pursue a professional career by enrolling in the Child and Youth Care (CYC) program at Douglas College.

“The word ‘care’ in the program name really stood out to me. I wanted to understand more about what it really means to care in this field,” Kyle says.

Emphasizing empathy and building trust

Although Kyle had prior experience working with children at TLA Online, the CYC program at Douglas College revealed dimensions of care he had never seen before. Through the course content and in-class activities, he realized that effective youth work hinges on empathy and connection rather than rigid methods.

“No two people are the same, but recognizing similarities helps me develop my empathy and improve as a professional,” he says. “When you work with youth, you’re working with real human beings who have emotions we may never fully understand, but we still have a responsibility to care for them.”

A core principle Kyle embraced from the program was the focus on each child’s individual strengths. “In CYC, we’re taught to be strength-based, focusing on how behaviours serve a child’s need. For example, if someone throws pens because they feel uncomfortable, I help them learn to express ‘I need space,’ so they can connect better with others instead of resorting to negative behaviours,” he explains.

A career that ultimately empowers children to find their own path forward

Equipped with his youth work experience and leadership skills, Kyle has set his sights on redefining what support looks like within the school where he currently works.

“The traditional school model speaks to the group, but CYC focuses on the individual. I want to blend in a more personal approach that helps students understand class-wide expectations in a way that fits them, especially those with different backgrounds or abilities,” says Kyle.

Driven by this desire to help students holistically, Kyle has submitted a proposal to establish a new role that integrates restorative justice principles, which seeks to repair harm done to people. With his proposal, he aims to help students reclaim their identity and find the individual support they need. “It’s about helping students not just meet deadlines but recover when they fall and move forward at their own pace, in a system that’s always ‘go, go, go’,” he explains. “It’s about ensuring students and their families have help beyond the school day.”

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Learn more about the Child and Youth Care Bachelor and Diploma programs at Douglas College.