FROM: Ann Houston,Communications and Marketing
Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education
1500 W. Seventh Ave., Stillwater, OK 74074
Phone: 405-743-5112 Fax: 405-743-5541 Cell: 405-742-6838
e-mail:ahous@okcareertech.org
Recent “American Idol” Contestant Rooted in FCCLA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
By Jill Banzet
With a worldwide fan base and skills gained from his FCCLA experiences, Kyle Ensley’s road to success is wide open.
Earlier this year, this southeastern Oklahoman face became nationally recognizable as a contestant on Fox’s hit television show, “American Idol,” where he unveiled his aspirations of one day being Oklahoma’s governor.
He also earned one of the most sought-after political ambassador programs in America – the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship. As a student at Wright City High School, Ensley was known for his superior academic status and involvement in school organizations. However, he faced a difficult decision. He had to choose between music and the arts or taking leadership roles in the CareerTech student organization, Family, Careers and Community Leaders of America. FCCLA is a national organization concentrating on the development of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors within individuals to strengthen families and support communities. Oklahoma FCCLA is affiliated with CareerTech Family and Consumer Sciences Education programs reaching more than 13,000 students in 430 chapters on high school and technology center campuses across the state. The Wright City FCCLA Adviser Donna Lindly, was thrilled when Ensley chose the student organization. “Kyle quickly rose to the level of our local chapter president, then district president,” Lindly said. “He then ran for and was elected to serve on the FCCLA state officer team as state secretary.” |
Kyle Ensley |
While Ensley’s academic and vocal talents have gained much public recognition, he credits his involvement in FCCLA as being a solid cornerstone for the future.
According to Oklahoma CareerTech State Director Phil Berkenbile, that is why Ensley is being recognized as a CareerTech Champion.
“Champions are alumni of the CareerTech system's high school or adult programs and student organizations who attribute much of their success to their CareerTech experience,” Berkenbile said.
During his term as state FCCLA secretary, Ensley honed his organizational, public speaking and interviewing skills. He admits these skills are serving him well as an International Business and Political Science student at Oklahoma State University and as a recent contestant on “Idol’s” 2008 season.
Lindly described Ensley as being “a sponge for knowledge.”
His sister-in-law Lindsay Ensley, who is now the Wright City FCCLA adviser, agrees.
“He was obsessed with studying about kings and queens of England,” Lindsay said. “Kyle read everything he could get his hands on. His thirst for learning created a stable platform for his academic and working career.”
Ensley’s exceptional talents for learning and writing helped him win a high school essay contest while still in junior high. The prize was an all-expense-paid-trip to Germany. The trip and his “encyclopedic” studies fed his developing interest in world cultures and foreign politics.
In the eighth grade, Ensley convinced his brother Wesley and Lindsay, both students at Oklahoma State University, to take him to hear former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher speak at OSU.
“Kyle begged us to take him to hear her,” Lindsay said. “We had no interest in the lecture, but there we were, on the very front row with Kyle!”
His adviser, Lindly, remembers her heart-to-heart talk with Ensley about the commitment required for his state FCCLA leadership venture.
“Kyle talked to me about running for state office after he attended his first state convention during his freshman year of high school,” Lindly said. “He saw how the goals of the club matched his own principals, beliefs and standards and wanted to be a part of that. I told him it would require a lot of time and effort, but knew he could contribute so much to the state leadership team.”
Ensley’s decision to pursue a state FCCLA office proved worth the effort.
“I liked what FCCLA stood for,” Ensley said. “Its goals encompass being a good citizen, which is very important to me. FCCLA encourages students to pursue their interests and what they love to do. It let me be myself.
“As an OSU student, I have interviewed and sent in resumes for a lot of the activities that interest me. FCCLA really prepared me for that,” Ensley said. “Jobs are competitive. I was fortunate to get a head start in high school.”
As an OSU junior, Ensley was named a recipient of the Pickering Fellowship, a prestigious honor bestowed on only 20 college students across the country each year. The fellowship is designed to prepare students to work with the U.S. State Department of Foreign Service.
“With the fellowship, I’ll be going to Princeton this summer to take classes that will prepare me for graduate school,” he said. “The summer after I graduate from OSU, I will be provided with an internship with the U.S. Embassy and two years of graduate school. After that, the fellowship provides me with a job doing consulate work for two years.
“I really enjoy politics, and am thankful for the opportunities through the fellowship. My new goal is to be a U.S. ambassador or foreign-service officer and then come back to Oklahoma.”
Four American Idol 2008 top 24 contenders were from Oklahoma and featured during Hollywood Week. Kyle Ensley was one of four Oklahomans who qualified in the top 24. David Cook, a Blue Springs, Missouri native, recently moving to Tulsa. Cook was later named the 2008 American Idol. Leaving from the Tulsa International Airport for Hollywood in February, from the left are Tulsans, Ensley, Cook and Alaina Whitaker and Colton Swon, Muskogee. |
|
Although Ensley dreams of one day becoming governor of Oklahoma, he still has a passion for music and the arts. “In the second grade my parents entered me in a talent show,” Ensley said. “After that, I quit singing until I was in the junior high chorus.” While flying home last year from a summer internship in Washington, D.C., Ensley’s plane had a layover in Dallas on the same day “American Idol” was holding its 2008 season auditions there. He decided to stick around for it. “I waited in the Cowboys’ football stadium for 15 hours to audition for 15 seconds,” Ensley said. His patience was rewarded with additional try-outs leading up to the televised audition with “Idol” judges Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul. "I just tried out for fun,” Ensley said. “I never thought in a million years I would make it on the show!" People across the world fell in love with Ensley’s charm and political aspirations. The show even ran a short film clip featuring Ensley and his aspirations of working in the government. When his time on the series was over, Cowell said he was disappointed to see Ensley leave the show, mentioning Ensley could easily be the next United States president. |
Following his stint on “Idol,” Ensley did several public appearances including the “Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
“I’ve always enjoyed singing,” Ensley said on the DeGeneres’ show. “Since the first season of the (Idol) show I’ve been a huge fan and told myself I was going to try out. I have another (career) plan in mind, but I wanted to be on ‘American Idol’ for the experience and to have fun and live it up.”
Ensley is a member of FarmHouse at OSU, a fraternity known for high
academic achievement. He continues to balance university and extracurricular
activities such as the OSU Student Alumni Board, Homecoming Steering
Committee, Spring Sing (an OSU chorale performance event) and a Lou Wentz
research project.
Posted May 29, 2008