Smith back home again working for Penn State
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UNIVERSITY PARK -- When last we saw Kyle Smith, he was working with "Lions, Owls and Bears, oh my," transitioning from a football equipment manager at Penn State to an intern with the NFL's Chicago Bears then back to college as an assistant for the Temple Owls.
Not exactly how the famous line from "The Wizard of Oz" goes, but the Mifflin County High School product wasn't complaining.
In a span of 16 months, Smith and his wife, Hannah, moved three times for three different jobs, lived in two major metropolitan cities and developed many lasting friendships.
Now, Smith has made another move as he is back in Happy Valley, working as an athletic equipment and facilities worker at Penn State. He oversees equipment services as the manager for the Nittany Lion men's and women's basketball and swimming and diving teams.
It's definitely a change of pace, having worked for so many years in the football world. But for the Smiths, "There's no place like home." (Just trying to keep the whole "Wizard of Oz" thing going here.)
"My new role at Penn State is different than what I am used to, but I am very thankful for it, nonetheless," Smith said. "It has its similarities as to what you do in football equipment as well as many differences.
"No matter what challenges present themselves to me in this new role, I am ready to take them head on," he added. "As much as I learned at Temple and developed great friendships with many people, it feels good to be back in the blue and white."
While Smith is back at Penn State, he's gotten a new perspective watching last Saturday's season-opener from the stands. Previously, he was with the team on the sidelines on gameday. He will have vantage point today as the Nittany Lions host Delaware in a 12 p.m. kickoff.
"It is good to be home," Smith said. "I missed out on another opportunity this summer, but in hindsight, I can see that God has a plane that is better than we can imagine, and we really have to put our faith in Him."
The Smiths' faith was certainly put to the test this summer when Hannah learned she was pregnant. "After watching Hannah go through two miscarriages in the first year we were married, seeing the positive pregnancy test was nothing short of amazing," Smith said. "We are now in our second year of marriage, and we have experienced so many things I never thought we would have."
The next day, Kyle got a call from his old boss at Penn State about an open position. Nittany Lion officials were pleased to hear of his interest.
Temple's head equipment manager also left for another job in mid-June, leaving Smith and a few students to carry the load. "I have to give a shoutout to my student managers," Smith said. "Without their help this summer, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish what I needed to get done to prepare the team for fall camp.
"Temple eventually did hire a new head equipment manager, but the almost two months that I was by myself was some of the most challenging times I've had in my young career," he added.
The following days and weeks were crazy in July as Smith traveled back and forth from Mifflin County to Philadelphia, balancing Hannah's first ultrasound appointment with work on report day for Temple's fall football camp.
That night, he would return to Strodes Mills, where the Smiths were living with his parents, to spend the night. After interviewing at Penn State, Smith got the job and made the move back.
That transition was also crazy as Smith trained his replacement.
"They worked it out that I would stay through the end of Temple's training camp before I would start at Penn State," he explained. "I had two and a half weeks to wrap things up at Temple and help teach the ins and outs of Temple to their new head equipment manager."
"With a baby on the way, I can think of no better situation than to be back at my alma mater, so much closer to family and getting the opportunity to see what working for other sports is like," he added. "The last year and a half has definitely had its ups and downs, highs and lows, but I am thankful for all of it."
Smith is glad to be back at Penn State in familiar surroundings, albeit with different sports.
"I miss being in the trenches on our late-night laundry shifts or messing around while we create gear packages," he said. "And I will never forget those who took me under their wing when I was overwhelmed with life.
"I never thought I would leave Mifflin County," he added. "But I did, and I am glad I did. I'm just as glad to be back. It will always be home. But you learn things about yourself, get closer to your spouse and have a whole other outlook on life when you leave what's familiar, leave your comfort zone."
Through it all, Smith has learned just how important the things he misses are and how he cherished them even more when he got back.
"It's good to be back home," he said. "We are ..."