Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Opportunistic Kizirian Finds Himself, Dream Job
June 25, 2015 | Track and Field, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - From an athletic standpoint, Alex Kizirian's time at the University of Colorado will mostly be measured in feet and inches. Pounds, too. He left Boulder this spring as the school record-holder in the indoor weight throw (70-8) and outdoor hammer throw (212-4).
But numbers achieved and records surpassed in tossing heavy objects don't tell Kizirian's story. Don't even come close, in fact. Stats provide hardly more than prologue.
A Bulgarian immigrant who accompanied his mother to Colorado in 1998 when he was 6, Kizirian's success at CU is measured in self totality, his passion to better himself and excel. His track and field work ethic as an eager walk-on was nearly unmatched. And there would be no drop off in the classroom, where he earned a degree in chemical engineering.
But Kizirian always wanted, demanded, more from himself - and CU provided the perfect path for a career journey that later this summer will steer him to the Texas Panhandle, where he will begin work as a process safety engineer for Phillips 66 at its Borger refinery.
With a hardhat sitting atop his 6-3, 270-pound frame, Kizirian won't be difficult to spot in the Phillips plant, which was established in 1927 - six years after the oil boom began in the Panhandle with the drilling of the first well. Although specific responsibilities will be determined later, Kizirian's job will entail monitoring the entire refinery process with an overriding emphasis on safety.
With a chuckle, he noted, "I'm not sure yet of my exact responsibilities, but I want to make sure when part of the plant is off line and we turn things back on it doesn't blow up."
Right. Kizirian has a quick wit and easy manner; he's humble but he's also comfortable selling himself - something that he wasn't so comfortable doing several years ago. That, among other things, evolved after his involvement in CU's career services program and STEPS (Success Training and Excellence Planning for Student-Athletes).
Dave Callan, after most of a career spent in public education, came to CU in 2011 and directs STEPS, which also includes a Leadership Academy that stresses two areas: self-improvement and development as a leader, and how to be a better leader for others.
KIZIRIAN'S PARTICIPATION IN STEPS began when he was a sophomore, but his involvement in the leadership phase, said Callan, was sometimes limited by academic responsibilities. There were no limitations, however, in what Kizirian accomplished in the rest of the program.
"He's the kind of student who wants to take advantage of opportunities presented him," Callan said. "I really appreciate young people who take advantage of what's offered them."
That attitude was noticed almost immediately by two-time Olympian Casey Malone, the CU throwers coach who watched Kizirian compete at Mountain Range High School in Westminster and liked how Kizirian conducted himself.
"He's grateful for everything he gets," Malone told The Denver Post. "He's very hardworking, very diligent, and he understands the opportunity that he has in front of him. He wants to make the most of that ' in the (throwing) ring and in the classroom."
But, Callan added, "It didn't come easy for him. He came in not the most polished guy with his interpersonal skills. But he worked at it, he persevered."
Kizirian got an assist with his perseverance. Besides Callan, there was Blair Fraser, a former Rice University tennis player who works in career services and makes time weekly to spend in the Dal Ward Athletics Center with student-athletes. Their help, noted Kizirian, was immeasurable.
"They were my career coaches," he said. "They helped me improve the way I talk to people about myself, the way I market myself. That's a huge skill to have, very important. You have to become more independent, you have to fight for it and show the recruiter why you're the best for the position. They helped me to be able to communicate that."
But the heavy lifting in this process was done by the guy who excelled at tossing the heavy objects. Kizirian was tireless, said Callan: "He was an extremely hard worker as an athlete and he transferred it to this. Not everybody can do that. To be an engineering student and an athlete is hard work. All the credit goes to him."
For the last two years, Kizirian attended "every career fair possible." Phillips 66 recruiters were intrigued by Kizirian's background, the fact that he left dorm life to move in with his immigrant grandmother to help take care of his late grandfather, and the fact that he was an athlete.
BUT HE WAS TOLD THAT he needed more internship experience and that a higher GPA wouldn't hurt, either.
Kizirian didn't blink. He interviewed and landed a summer internship a year ago and raised his GPA to a 3.0. He recently received honorable mention on the Pac-12's All-Academic team. When he met with Phillips 66 representatives last fall, their requirements had been met.
An interview was set, but beforehand Kizirian met with Callan and Fraser for a series of mock interviews and preparation. They advised him to play to his strengths - "Their support came in the form of coaching me, helping me highlight skills that a student-athlete has over a typical engineer," Kizirian said. Those skills would be communication and leadership skills, a results-oriented mentality and the ability to manage time well.
Phillips 66 interviewed Kizirian once, twice, then offered him an exploratory trip to Borger.
"Two days later," Kizirian recalled, "I got a call and they offered me one of three positions. It happened just before outdoor (track) season and that took a lot of pressure off of me."
Having a job in hand also will undoubtedly mean a more relaxing trip back to Bulgaria. Kizirian left earlier this week to spend a month and a half with his father, whom he hasn't seen in two years.
"It's going to be quality time," he said. "We're going to travel to Turkey and Greece . . . then it's back to Borger in August to join the real working world."
Folks at CU like Dave Callan, Blair Fraser and Casey Malone believe he'll be a very good fit. More importantly, now Alex Kizirian believes it, too.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
