Kyle Warren enjoys getting up and going to work every day.
It wasn’t always this way. More than a decade ago, the thought of facing another work week gave him the Sunday blues. But once he arrived at UVM in 2007 to work for the operations department at the UVM Davis Center, everything changed.
“I love coming to work because this is everything I want,” says Warren, the loading dock manager for the Davis Center. “This is the happiest I’ve been in my adult life. Even the bad days are good.”
The Davis Center receives 40 to 60 deliveries daily, including mail, food, and merchandize for offices, restaurants, and shops in the building, as well as items for conferences, receptions, and weddings.
It’s not just food and textbooks coming in at the UVM loading dock. Warren has also seen livestock, cadavers, bees, and even former Vice President Joe Biden and the Secret Service make their way through.
“There’s never a dull moment,” he says.
While a student at Winooski High School, Warren’s first job was driving a fork lift in a lumber mill. He went on to work in food service and later in shipping and receiving.
Before joining UVM, Warren worked for a corporate retailer and was promoted to a management position—a move he quickly regretted. Sitting behind a desk all day and supervising others was not what he wanted, prompting him to look for employment elsewhere. After being hired by Allen Josey, the director of the Davis Center, Warren was mentored by longtime employee Ray LaVigne, who passed away in 2013.
At UVM, Warren is behind the desk for maybe an hour a day. The rest of the time, he’s happily on his feet, helping with deliveries or working with event planners, salespeople, and drivers.
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned here is to be kind, be patient, and help others,” he says. “Don’t lose your inner child. Do the best you can to make the world a better place every day, even if it’s just making someone smile. That’s very easy to do here. I love the Davis Center. I helped build it and I am very proud of it. I treat it like my home.”
When asked what he loves most about his work, Warren says it’s not just one thing. He loves that every day brings something new, and the opportunities for problem solving and camaraderie continue to be deeply rewarding even after 11 years on the job.
“This is such an educational job. I’ve met people from all over the world, and I’ve gotten to know so many students and keep in touch with them long after they graduate,” he says. “I’ve worked in a fair number of places in my lifetime, and I always say that if you land in a place like this at some point, you’re lucky.”
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