Kyle Lucken knows that, wherever he goes in the trade show industry, he’ll be surrounded by fellow Beavers.

“Every big event, I still keep in contact with multiple alumni from Bemidji State,” said Lucken, a 2011 BSU grad with a bachelor’s in technology, art & design, with an exhibit & experience design emphasis. “Every year at EXHIBITOR, there’s always a BSU meet-up for current students as well as alumni. The alumni are kind of sprinkled throughout the country at various companies, so it’s a big thing to meet up.”

Lucken, now a CAD/detailing department supervisor at beMatrix USA in Georgia, recently returned to EXHIBITORLIVE in Louisville, Ky., which Lucken described as “the trade show for trade shows.” There, he met up with current Bemidji State students presenting their design portfolios, hoping to gain interest from companies within the industry for job opportunities.

Lucken knows the feeling well. He was once right there himself.

“I went both my junior and senior years to present my portfolio,” he said. “For me, it’s very rewarding (coming back as a professional). When I went as a student, there were people mentoring me along the way. I was the mentee and now can become the mentor.”

Lucken stays connected with BSU through his company, which has donated some of its product to the university. Those efforts are a direct investment in what Lucken calls “the next generation of designers.”

And for the students, Lucken is as good a mentor as any to learn from. In November, Lucken received the Designer of the Year Award from the Experiential Designers and Producers Association. The award acknowledges a designer who works diligently to enhance the professional standards of experiential/exhibit designers and contributes their talents, creativity and personal time to bring innovation to experiential/ exhibit design.

“I was humbled. I was shocked, and I didn’t expect it. It is a very competitive award,” Lucken said. “I like to be the man behind the curtain that you don’t really see but is just getting things done.”

Lucken didn’t think he fit the prototypical mold for such an honor. His role is more synonymous with a liaison, one who collects concepts or designs from clients and disperses them with his team. Yet his greatest passion is educating clients on the work and making sure beMatrix sees it through.

“I’m not the typical designer,” he said, “but with my education background and my current role, my CEO was like, ‘You’re kind of the best of both worlds. You have your design input, the creative side, but you also have the practical side.’

“My personality, I didn’t think I deserved the award because I’m not a typical designer. But with my input and our industry, I have educated a lot of designers and have done that throughout my career.”

And, of course, Lucken accepted the award in a room featuring other fellow Bemidji State grads. Like Lucken said: They’re everywhere, after all.

“There were actually a handful of BSU alumni in attendance,” he said. “Once a Beaver, always a Beaver, so we hang out and stick together whenever we get together.”

By Micah Friez