Say hello to Kiara Ansley-Hinds! Kiara is currently a senior from Boston, Massachusetts majoring in Women’s and Gender studies. Kiara is very involved across campus as the president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPH), and the vice president of both Delta Sigma Theta and Sisters in Dialogue. Kiara is also a fellow for the Women’s and Gender studies department, a teaching assistant for Portuguese and an employee for the office of fraternity and sorority life.
One of Kiara’s values is deeply centered on community and being helpful toward underrepresented communities. Through this, Kiara used her leadership skills and her love for basketball to participate in a mentorship program for children residing in Boston. During recent years, Kiara was a member of the Show Stoppers Basketball team where she worked alongside her coach to develop a program for children between the ages of 6-12 years. There, she was able to use Basketball to facilitate community building and to encourage the children within her community.
Kiara believes that it is imperative to be intentional about the ways in which children are being raised and how adults pour into them through conversation and education. Children are one of the most vulnerable populations, so for Kiara, bringing children in fellowship with one another, helping them figure out what community looks like, and being a support system reinforced her passion of working with vulnerable populations beyond just children.
This mentorship program was one of the many things that contributed to Kiara’s driven personality and her goal of becoming a physical therapist that specifically works with queer/black bodies. One of the many lessons she acquired from working with children is the concept of care. There are different levels of care when it comes to working with certain demographics, and that is something she plans to employ within her future careers.
To further connect with Kiara: ansley_k1@denison.edu
