Introducing 2013 DC ProInspire Fellow, Kiara Walters

Name: Kiara Walters
Hometown:  Goldsboro, NC
Current Organization:  College Summit

What inspired you to apply for ProInspire?

After three years in the professional workforce I was loving what I did but felt like something was missing. When I wasn’t traveling, much of my time after work was spent volunteering with different youth development organizations. I wanted to know what it would be like to not just make an impact after hours but what would it be like making this my main occupation. I made the decision first to make a serious effort to transition to the non-profit and in the process found ProInspire. I found it was much more challenging to transition from corporate to the non-profit and ProInspire provided the perfect opportunity to that seamlessly.

Is this the first time in the non-profit sector?

Besides various volunteer responsibilities with non-profits, this is my first time actually working in the sector. I made the switch because I wanted to do something more meaningful and wanted to see it felt like to support a mission I am passionate about on a full-time basis rather than just when I had free time. So far it has been great. I have had the opportunity to use a lot of the skills and experiences I have gathered over the past few years. This opportunity has also opened up some opportunities for me to explore and be challenged on a few things I haven’t had much experience with but had the desire to which has been awesome. The work environment has also been very different as I watch the struggle between the heart of the organization and the business of providing a service. It’s a very interesting balance.

What is a typical day like for you on the job?

Much of the work that I do is strategic in nature so there is no standard day. A lot of the work that I do is on my own but I do hold meetings with cross functional team members or with my boss to find a solution to a challenge we are having internally. I have also had the opportunity to participate in the work we do on the ground by serving as a Writing Coach during a summer workshop. I hope to get the opportunity to visit some of the schools that we serve as well as some of the regions that support them.

What attributes do you have that you think made you marketable for the position? 

College Summit is structured in a similar manner as Caterpillar, where I started my career and worked for almost 4 years. Both have a national or global headquarters that provide support to a field organization that then provides support to our customers. This definitely helped me to understand the dynamics of the organization. While at Caterpillar, I had the opportunity to manage many projects with people across various organizations and divisions which is particularly important in my role as a project manager at College Summit. The organization is also in a state of change which I have been able to leverage my past experience being trained and using my change management knowledge. Lastly, there has been quite a bit of overlap in many of the tools that I have used while at Vocus which has helped me to use that knowledge to help the organization think differently about how to better use the tools to operate more efficiently and effectively.

Where else would you like to live one-day?

I was born in Queens, NY; grew up in Goldsboro, NC; went to school in Greensboro, NC; and worked in Peoria, IL and Louisville, Kentucky. I can honestly say that I really love DC as a place to live. If I had the opportunity to live somewhere else out of the country for a short period of time I think I would enjoy living in a place like Shanghai or Singapore. When visiting Shanghai in the past I really enjoyed the vibe overall including the culture, commerce, and technology.

If your friends had to describe you in three words what would they be?

Aggressive, Individualistic, Sensitive. Aggressive because I am driven and goal oriented, individualistic because I consider others but I can be thought of as one who beats to their own drum, and sensitive because I am easily moved by things that I hear or observe. Some people love these things about me and others may find it a challenge but these things make up who I am.