The Amazing Journey of One First-Gen CofC Honors Student

^{Photos by Catie Cleveland}

When Kyle Barretto ’25 received an invitation to the Honors College Interview Weekend, he decided to blow it off. The first-generation student had applied for early admission to the College of Charleston and gotten in, so why did he need to be interviewed?

Fortunately, his father wanted to go fishing in Charleston and told Barretto he was going to the interview. The experience interviewing for Honors College scholarships changed his CofC trajectory. Not only was he accepted into the Honors College’s merit scholarship program, the Charleston Fellows, but he also met Lancie Affonso ’96 (M.S. ’08), Honors College faculty fellow, director of the Honors Entrepreneurship Living-Learning Community (E-LLC) and senior instructor of computer science, management and marketing. Affonso introduced him to the many opportunities the Honors College offers – not that Barretto needed a lot of guidance about seizing opportunities.

Barretto grew up living a modest life in Manila, Philippines, with his grandmother. “We lived frugally, but my grandma tried her best to keep food on the table,” he says.

When he was 11 years old, Barretto immigrated to the U.S. to be with his mother. So that he would get a good education, she moved the family to Fort Mill, South Carolina, where Barretto excelled in school, played on the basketball team and started a vending machine business along with a vintage clothing and shoe business.

When applying to colleges, knowing that his family’s finances were tight, Barretto applied in state and aimed to graduate in three years. Once he was accepted to the College, he mapped out his courses as a computer science major to maximize his chances of success while also making time to participate in extracurricular activities.

Barretto’s first year was a flurry of activity. “I didn’t know what I was getting into,” he laughs. “Professor Affonso kept throwing opportunities my way, and I didn’t want to back down.”

Like most first-generation students, Barretto struggled in his first few weeks at the College. “I remember failing a couple quizzes, maybe getting come Cs,” he says.

One of his teachers, Ellie Lovellette, assistant professor of computer science, saw he was having a difficult time. “Kyle is a natural overachiever,” she says. “Still, in the first few weeks, I could see he was struggling. He hadn’t figured out how he learns best, but we spoke, and – once he got his footing – he was unstoppable.”

Unstoppable in class and out, Barretto received multiple scholarships that gave him the flexibility and confidence to take advantage of opportunities. In addition to grants and awards, he received the Swanson Family Annual Scholarship, the Chad V. Adams ’18 Memorial Scholarship, the Jill Conway Annual Scholarship, the Thomas W. Carroll Memorial Scholarship in Computer Science, the Charles and Linda Bishara Scholarship and the SSM Diversity Enhancement Scholarship.

Extremely thankful for all the aid he has received, Barretto’s academic excellence serves as a sign of gratitude to all the donors.

Inspired by his donors, Barretto worked with Affonso and Norm Levine, geology professor and director of the Santee Cooper GIS Laboratory and Lowcountry Hazards Center, on three different research projects at the Lowcountry Hazards Center: high throughput computing optimization, full-stack development and mobile development. In his first year, his research prioritized HTC cluster optimization – fine-tuning a group of computers together to act as one computer in order to process a large amount of data in perpetuity. Barretto secured a summer research grant to continue his work.

In addition, Barretto worked in the Division of Information Technology, served as student director for the E-LLC and participated in numerous pitch competitions, including the University of South Carolina’s interstate Big Health Data Competition, competing against doctoral researchers.

”We were given millions of rows of data and then had to show which genes correspond to what sickness,” explains Barretto, who was on the only undergraduate team at the competition. “Then we had to create a pipeline to show these signs. It was not an easy competition, but I was happy to be part of it.”

He won the Disability and Entrepreneurship: Models of Success (D.E.M.O.S.) pitch competition with his bi-omnidirectional keyboard that helps people with typing challenges. And, at the Impact X competition, Barretto and his team placed third with their pitch to use old sails made of Kevlar, a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, to make patio covers and umbrellas.

He did all this his first year at the College.

“He’s a rare one,” says Lovellette. “He has the tech acumen to learn quickly and is a natural entrepreneur, but he also has soft skills you don’t see in someone so young.”

His second year, Barretto continued working with Levine and IT. Building on his summer research, he led a team to win third place at the first HarborHack Competition, where he created a website so anyone can access public and private flood data. He later mentored an SC Innovates team that made it to the semi-finals. He also served as the director of communications for the Charleston Fellows and worked as a resident assistant where he was nominated for most inclusive community.

Barretto attributes that inclusiveness to his language skills; he speaks Tagalog, English, Spanish and Ibanag.

“Languages help me understand people; it reduces the gaps,” he explains.

Barretto interned with the Global Digital Needs Agency, serving as a data engineering intern. During his tenure, he familiarized himself with Amazon Web Services and reconstructed the internal onboarding process.

At the same time, a side business presented itself. Barretto’s confidence and knowledge of style from his experience with the sneaker culture and vintage clothing came through on his Instagram posts. Gravitating to his online persona, people reached out asking him to be their personal stylist for events. He currently has seven clients across the U.S. and is working on his first clothing line – garments that he will design, market and manufacture.

Last week, Barretto graduated in three years with not only a perfect GPA, but also 12 credits toward his M.S. in computer and information sciences and multiple job offers, including one with Siemens.

“Siemens came to the CofC Career Fair through sheer luck, seeing as they are not regulars at our career fairs,” says Barretto, who, as a software engineering intern with Siemens, has managed multiple projects, including AI-enhanced/automated sales development training software and an internal machine learning model for the application engineering group – both of which are formally registered and in use by Siemens. “I was the only student from CofC to have my summer internship extended throughout the school year and the only student from my intern class to be offered a job. I’m extremely grateful – blessed, but also lucky.”

To build his machine learning skills, Barretto began a new joint project with Mercedes-Benz Vans under the Charleston Corrosion Control Lab. This project sought to address supply chain issues regarding corroded metal parts. Barretto and his team created a prototype that uses shipping container data to forecast the possibility of corrosion so Mercedes-Benz Vans could prepare.

Simultaneously, Barretto began work with NASA as co-principal investigator, heading a multibillion dollar research mission toward Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. In his work, he led a cross-functional team of 15 students that collaborated with graduate engineering students from the University of Alabama, Huntsville.

“I look forward to seeing what Kyle will do next,” says Lovellette. “He is incredibly talented and knows how to make the best out of every situation. The fact that he is swimming in opportunities is a testament to how good he is.”

Grateful for all he has experienced at the College, Barretto wants to give back to future students.

“Each year at the College, I dedicated my best efforts to honor the support of my donors, mentors and – above all – my family,” says Barretto, who serves as an ambassador for the School of Engineering, Computing, and Mathematics as well as for the computer science department. “Now, I want to help people replicate the successes I’ve had by connecting them to the resources they need. It is my duty to share and give them opportunities.”

Barretto’s desire to give back is exactly what Affonso saw when he met him during the Honors College Interview Weekend. He was fascinated by Barretto’s compelling story and how this first-generation student entrepreneur wanted to impact the campus community.

“Kyle is an extraordinary scholar and peer mentor who thrives in fast-paced environments where he leverages empathy, creativity and critical thinking to deliver innovative solutions,” says Affonso. “His belief in lifelong learning drives him to push past expectations and inspire his mentees to reach their dreams.”

Affonso adds that Barretto also volunteered to help interview prospective scholarship students during this year’s Honors College Interview Weekend – a full-circle moment for someone who almost skipped his own scholarship interview.