Decade Award honors an alumna who is recognized by her peers as a great role model and leader for younger alumnae because her outstanding career achievements, representing global consciousness and community involvement in her chosen profession.
Alumna Profile: Kia was the first person in her family to go to college and, 10 years out of the College of Saint Benedict, remains the only one with a master’s degree. Hers came in intercultural communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Today, she is associate director of the Greenfield Intercultural Center at Penn. Her work focuses on societal and institutional support for DEI work and intercultural inclusion. “I feel like 18-year-old Kia in 2009, an immigrant kid from the inner city, if she looked at me now, she would be so proud,” Kia says. “Back then, I thought success was about money and power. Now it’s about the lives I can impact and the students I can build relationships with.”