If you talk to Kyle Perry you note right away that he is a traditional guy.  Football on Sunday afternoons.  College basketball in March.  He plays for AFA’s boys varsity team as the only senior on the squad.  He also likes cars and makes sure to catch the “Great American Race,” or the Daytona 500 as it is also known, in February.

But peel back a layer or two and he may surprise you.  Kyle Perry, “Renaissance Man?”  “Oh yes, absolutely,” he replies, “But only if you pronounce it re-NAY-sance.”

Kyle’s broad interests begin with the piano.  “I play every chance I get,” he confesses.  “I guess I love it partly because it is so versatile.  You can easily play loud or soft and convey a broad range of emotion. It has the widest possible range of notes, and unlike other instruments, all those notes are right in front of you.”  Trained in a classical style, he enjoys a broad range of artists, such as David Nevue, The Fray, and Billy Joel.  He explains, “I’m pretty tolerant of music.  I’ll even listen to country!”

Educationally, Kyle has been home-schooled, at AFA, and also Westfields High School, where he attended for his 9th-10th grade year.  Looking back, Kyle can appreciate certain aspects of his stint at Westfields.  “It did prepare me for certain experiences, and hopefully got me used to the culture shock of a large university.  But what brought me back to AFA was the community.  Here the bond between students, and students and faculty is very strong and real.  High school can be a tough transition between childhood and adulthood, and I knew that putting myself back into this community would help me a lot through this time.”

Kyle confesses that only after returning to AFA for his junior year did he discover books.  A professed “math and science guy” he simply had no interest before.  “When I got back [to AFA] people always said, ‘Have you read this,’ or, ‘Have you read book x?’  I asked myself, ‘Why are all these people so excited about books?’”  Inspired by those around him, he soon delved into the “Harry Potter” series.  While Kyle will say, “I’m a slow reader, and my friends laugh at how long it takes me to finish a book,” he is now committed to reading.  In school he enjoyed Jeff Shaara’s “Killer Angels,” an account of the battle of Gettysburg.  His future reading plans to delve into Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy are on hold as he currently works through book six of the Harry Potter series.

After graduation Kyle will attend Virginia Tech and major in Building Construction.  “I like how the task of designing a building forces you to be creative within limits, to make the best of what you have.”  The subject also appeals because he sees it as bridge between the sciences and humanities.  “I’ve realized it’s important to be well-rounded.  The humanities have never appealed as much to me, but I don’t want to be without a clue if I’m in a non-math situation,” he explains.   “I’ve also seen how [the two disciplines] can reinforce one another.  I’ll face very few situations outside a textbook that are only about math or science.”

Indeed, probably not many can envision a love of NASCAR, classical piano, and buildings co-existing, but Kyle has managed to pull it off.