Kyle Dramov (26) has always let prayer and the people around him guide his steps as he navigates school, sports, family, and career.
Kyle is in his fifth year at Point Loma, majoring in electrical engineering with a minor in computer science. He found PLNU through family — his aunt and uncle attended in the early 2000s and had a favorite bio professor: Dr. Kerry Fulcher. His sister attended PLNU as well.
“When I was looking at colleges, I was like, ‘that’s not where I’m gonna go. I’m not gonna follow my sister,’” Kyle explained, “just because of the sibling rivalry thing. But my parents sent me down to visit colleges, and she had a couple of her guy friends take me in. It was one of the most fun times, just being in that Point Loma community that you don’t know until you’re [in it].”
“I felt like God had been really pushing me towards the Navy.”
He felt called to apply to PLNU because of the friendship he felt on that visit. He discovered he could join the ROTC on Loma’s campus, which lined up perfectly with a dream he’d had since he was a child.
“I felt like God had been really pushing me towards the Navy,” Kyle said. “When I was 13, I told my mom I was going to join the Navy. It took her five years to convince me to go to school first … through prayer, I realized I’m supposed to be at Point Loma. I’m definitely so happy I made that choice.”
From the beginning, Kyle latched onto the Alpha Group ministry and threw himself into the community.
“I was a leader my sophomore year, family group leader my junior year, and then Alpha intern last year,” he said. “I went through all the ranks of Alpha — I really enjoyed the community, especially Connor Mathisen; he was my admissions counselor, and he was there when I was a family group leader. It was really cool to have him as a main mentor throughout Point Loma.”
Kyle also found community in the engineering department, doing research with Dr. Anthony Cortez, working closely in the Information Warfare Center, and being mentored by Dr. Benjamin Mood over caf lunches. He also found work in addition to serving as an Alpha leader.
“One of my favorite jobs I got involved with was the admissions,” Kyle said. “I still give tour guides, work the front desk, and work Preview Days. I interact with families the most, and I really enjoy showing off Loma and being able to provide a little glimpse into our school.”
Kyle’s freshman year was particularly marked by the formation of a men’s lacrosse club team.
“My sister’s friends — who I stayed with the time I toured Point Loma — were juniors, and they were lacrosse guys. So we started the team my freshman year, and we were playing Cal State, Fullerton, UC, Irvine, NAU … that was really fun. But then once they all graduated, we couldn’t find enough to make the team, so that kind of fell apart. But it was a really cool community building space.”
Prayer and community drove much of Kyle’s experience at PLNU — friends and family helped him discern when to say yes and what to turn down, which has helped him on the path he’s taking now. From eyeing a Navy SEAL position to the bomb squad, he’s opened many doors and seen others closed. At one point, unsure of his direction, Kyle turned to a friend.
Going all-in on math and science — two subjects he loved — could lead him to another career path in the Navy, one in nuclear power and submarines.
“I had a conversation with an upperclassman,” he explained, “and I didn’t realize this, but the Navy will try to screen [certain people] for their nuke program. So if you do really well in calculus and physics, you’re gonna get screened for it … [my friend said] you’re probably gonna get picked up for the nuke program, which includes submarines and the aircraft carriers that are the nuclear reactors.”
Kyle had previously done research about nuclear power, and realized that going all-in on math and science — two subjects he loved — could lead him to another career path in the Navy, one in nuclear power and submarines.
“It took, like, a lot of prayer to get me to [say] ‘OK.’ It feels impossible, but this is what God’s calling me to. I’m gonna go all in for this … I was walking out in the faith because I didn’t want to backtrack, so I stayed with it.”
Kyle passed his interviews with flying colors, even going up to D.C for an interview with an admiral. He ended up being offered a position as a submarine officer, which was a role he didn’t know existed and was actually harder to qualify for than some of his other choices.
“I’ll be a submarine officer in the Navy,” he explained. “I’ll do one or two deployments on a submarine, seeing what actually happens operationally. And then I’ll be back stateside to work in a shipyard designing submarines and the nuclear reactors for them. That’s how I think I would easily do 20 years in the Navy.”
“I don’t know what my future holds, but I know who holds my future, and that is what matters.”
Though the journey to this role wasn’t straightforward, Kyle has remained confident that God is working everything out.
“It’s been like, ups and downs of praying for an open door, and then it hasn’t opened. I’d say prayer has definitely, throughout my whole career, [been crucial]. In the Navy, you don’t know what you’re going to do. You put in your top five preferences, and they give you whatever the needs of the Navy are. I knew what I was signing up for, but when you’re actually in, it can feel a little bit scarier. My mom said, ‘I’m not gonna let you just enlist in the military,’ and I’m really grateful for that.”
Because of his mother’s guidance toward school, more opportunities opened up for Kyle, both in his career and his formation. His faith has been both challenged and shaped by his experiences in college, from relying on his Alpha group to sharing his testimony with others. Being open about the struggles of knowing his path helped him go through the process of interviewing, applying, and re-applying.
“I don’t know what my future holds, but I know who holds my future,” Kyle said, “and that’s what matters. And [my community] really rallied around me and was praying for me and believing in me and also, supporting me if something wasn’t exactly what I wanted. And Connor Mathisen played a big role in that too, like texting, ‘how’s it going,’ and then supporting me when I didn’t get what I necessarily wanted.”
Now, about to graduate, Kyle is looking forward to starting his career with the Navy as well as starting a family with his wife.
“She’s been a huge support throughout everything and into the unknown,” he said, smiling. “I had decided I was going to go into the Navy before we met, and she’s been such a big support throughout all the ups and downs — just trusting God and leading our family, and especially now having a baby! We are so excited and ready.”
