Bossier is home to many millennials who are trying to impact the community through their careers. This includes a pair of brothers who are out to change the lives of their students through their work in the classroom.
Kevin and Kyle Gallion are 24-year-old twins and south Bossier natives that just started their careers as teachers. Kevin teaches 4th grade math at Meadowview Elementary and Kyle teaches 6th grade social studies at Rusheon Middle School.
Kevin said being a teacher is the perfect job for him because he loves being able to work with kids.
“I can see myself in them, you know?” he said.
Kyle said it’s been an adjustment moving from college to career, but he’s slowly catching on.
“I was in college for six years and got used to not having a lot of responsibility, so I’m settling into this professional thing.”
Kyle said they’re “not your typical millennials.”
“We had to grow up early, we had to work for what we wanted,” he said.
Kevin added, “Our parents instilled in us a work ethic that was pretty hard core.”
So let’s find out more about these millennials and what they like about their hometown.
1. What made you want to be a teacher?
Kevin: A lot of my role models were teachers. I was an architecture major and one day I walked through the education building and it felt like home for me.
Kyle: Our mom teaches third grade at Bossier elementary, she has to be our biggest influence. I would go up there every now and then and I said, “I can see myself doing this.” Now I look at it as paying it forward. Teachers helped me reach potential, so why not pay it forward? My dad valued education and he was trying to push us out of the house in a good way. Mom had to leave college because she had four kids. She went back to school, raised four kids, worked in the computer lab, and made straight A’s.
2. Why do you live in Bossier?
Kevin: It’s SOBO or No Bo! I always wanted to work in Bossier Parish Schools. We went through the school system, we know it works. We wanted to be part of the system that makes people grow.
Kyle: We’ve been here for 24 years and this will always be home for me. I could leave for 50 years and come back and it will still be home. But we’ve seen south Bossier grow tremendously over the past 10 years. We had nothing and now it’s crazy how big Bossier’s gotten. I can’t believe how big it is.
3. What is your favorite thing about Bossier?
Kevin: The growth. We’ve grown up with Bossier. Every year we get bigger, they get bigger.
Kyle: Family environment. It’s one of those things where everybody knows each other, especially in south Bossier. Bossier Schools is a gigantic family. We’re slowly building something special here.
4. Where do you like to hang out and why?
Kevin: My house. When you’re a teacher you just go home after work. On the weekend, I’m just gathering myself back up for the week.
Kyle: As we and our friends have gotten older, we’ve grown apart in a good way because we all work. So I go to the movie theater a lot, I like seeing movies.
5. What is your favorite thing to do in Bossier?
Kevin: I love listening to music. There’s nothing better than putting on a good pair of headphones and laying in bed. We go to 2nd & Charles a lot. It has a lot of variety and it’s the only place that sells a lot of records.
Kyle: I like to watch movies. Like, I just bought the extended cut of “Lord of the Rings” and I’ll spend the whole weekend watching those. But we do go to 2nd & Charles a lot because they have everything — movies, video games, comics and records.
6. What do you want to accomplish in the future?
Kevin: I always want to be the best person I can be. But it’s not about me, I want to push my accomplishments onto the kids. I want to get a masters to have it, but I don’t ever see myself out of the classroom.
Kyle: I want to change these kids lives. I told these kids that they’re blessed to be alive, so do something that shows you’re grateful to be alive. The most you can do is to be a teacher. You make the most difference in the classroom.
7. If you could tell people one thing about Bossier, what would it be?
Kevin: Enjoy it. People here complain a lot about living in Bossier, but enjoy it. Bossier is growing. It’s a positive. Seek opportunity and find opportunity.
Kyle: There’s a lot here to stay positive about. A lot of people say there’s no opportunity, but they’re not looking. Bossier schools wasn’t in the same spot 10 years ago, and neither was I, but it’s grown and I’ve grown.
Want to read about more young trailblazers in Bossier? Check out last month’s Bossier Millennial Pro: Shon Trent.