Sashaying confidently onto the stage, draped in a flowing skirt and accompanying heels, Kyle Smitley approached the podium emanating grace.
On her first visit to DePauw at a mere 16-years-old, Smitley said that her first impression of the campus was that it made her think of Hogwarts, the fictional castle-like school in the Harry Potter novel series.
She went on to graduate from DePauw in 2007 but returned on Wednesday night as a part of the 175th Anniversary Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series. She is the founder and owner of barley and birch, an organic children's clothing line that she launched in 2009.
Smitley says that she normally laughs when asked what a typical day looks like in the life of an entrepreneur. "There really isn't one," Smitley said. "But I figured since you guys are DePauw kids and understand what it's like to have a hectic day, I would just pick a day and write down everything I did."
The day she chose was Friday, Feb. 17 — a day in which she spent 39 hours in produtivity mode, answering e-mail, running and staying up into the wee hours of the morning.
But constantly being busy is nothing new to her. When celebrities and millionaires ask her how she manages to accomplish everything, she knows it came from her time at DePauw. As a student, she was heavily involved in a large assortment of groups and activities.
"My one mission when I was here was to try all the things that I hadn't had a chance to do in my tiny little high school in Ohio," Smitley said.
And try things she did.
Smitley was involved with WGRE every semester she was on campus — the time when the station went from number six to number one in the nation. She also took cello lessons, wrote for The DePauw, rode in Little 5, was volunteer coordinator at the Humane Society and was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. In addition, Smitley was a swim coach at North Putnam High School, a Posse Plus Retreat member, went on Winter Term In Service trips and studied abroad in New Zealand.
But her years at DePauw were not without setbacks. During her sophomore year, her application to study geology in New Zealand was denied due to a lack of connection between the location and the subject matter. Then, during her senior year, she was turned down by Teach For America. She said that after these two major blows, she was devastated.
"It felt sometimes that I was in a horrible bubble, and it was difficult and frustrating and a lot of hard work on a lot of different levels," Smitley said. But she pressed on, learning lessons and gaining wisdom along the way.
After graduating with a double major in philosophy and environmental science and a double minor in Spanish and chemistry, she made a short stop in Washington D.C. before heading off to San Diego to do, as Smitley said, absolutely nothing. But some research on the children's product industry she completed during a summer internship changed all that.
"I looked into everything from mattresses to pacifiers to clothing," Smitley said. "It was all relatively horrifying, but the apparel industry was the worst. People would say ‘Hey, this is organic‘ — and what that means is that it's good for your kids, and it's also saving the world. But I would look into it and they were lying."
In response to her findings, Smitley decided to take action.
"The solution was pretty clear: I would kill two birds with one stone," she said. "I would start a company to give parents a very high-quality, safe option for their kids and I would use the small amount of money I made to donate to organizations all over the world to make a huge difference."
With absolutely no knowledge about how to run a business, she drew up the business plan for Barley and Birch.
"I stood firmly on the principle that kindness, humility and hard work would create the best possible brand," Smitley said.
Her message struck a chord with students, who said it was very inspiring.
"She does more in a week than I have probably done in my whole entire life," freshman Libby Warren said. "She is a fantastic role model. She really inspired me to go the extra mile, think creatively and to never give up."
Students around her vigorously nodded their heads in agreement.
"I was in complete awe," junior Bethy Velcich said. "She made me want to make a difference in the world."
After just its first year in business, Barley and Birch was carried in over 100 stores worldwide and won a slew of parents' awards for best children's clothing. After its second year, the company was featured in magazines ranging from People to Forbes. Smitley was chosen for Inc's "30 Under 30: America's Coolest Young Entrepreneurs."
After its third year, Barley and Birch created its own foundation and built and opened a children's home and school in Haiti. Last week, money earned by the company was sent and was used to de-worm all 3.2 million children in Haiti.
Next week, Smitley plans to launch her new company. Next month, she will run in the Boston Marathon. Next year, she will open a charter school in Detroit and the first-ever children's and prenatal clinic in all of Haiti.
"It's a lot, but nothing more intense then the list I read about what I did at DePauw," she said. "I'm living a very fun and very ridiculous life, because I believe life is meant to be lived and maxed out at every moment."