Kimiya Kim ’23 Takes on the Case for Racial Justice

Kimiya Kim ’23 came to Bentley in 2019 with a plan: graduate with an Economics-Finance major to prepare for law school and a career in corporate law. But in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, Kim was moved to change focus, taking social justice courses and joining the Phi Sigma Sigma Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee.  

“I grew up in a predominantly white town and I knew that racism existed, but I never had the platform or the ability to address it because it wasn’t taught or talked about,” Kim recalls. “Then, my sophomore year at Bentley, after the death of George Floyd, my sorority created a DEI Committee to talk about racism and how to combat this in our own chapter. We had no idea what we were doing, but we said we were going to build a committee and go from there.” 

Since Kim had not received any DEI education up to that point, she sought out opportunities that would help guide her voice on Phi Sigma Sigma’s committee. When she received an email about “Black Lives, Black Voices: Intersectional Perspectives on Racial Justice,” part of a series of roundtable seminars sponsored by the Valente Center for Arts & Sciences, she registered immediately.  

“The uniqueness of the seminar was that we all read the same materials — even the professors had not seen them before — and we were all learning together,” says Kim, who joined five professors and about 10 Honors Program classmates for the seminar. “That was the first time that I really had conversations about race, and it was incredibly eye-opening.” 

Those kinds of conversations continued. In spring 2021, Kim was accepted into the Bentley Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Center Yawkey Fellowship program and began an internship at KodeConnect, an organization that seeks to expose and engage underserved youth in dynamic STEM learning experiences. In the course "Effective Speaking," Kim was assigned a series of speeches — the first meant as a personal introduction.  

“I talked candidly about not really knowing who I was until I came to Bentley and found myself,” Kim says. “Taking courses on social justice law and learning more about the intersectionality of race and racism helped me better understand how being different — from a marginalized community — has impacted my choices and opportunities. But I also realized that there are many more people who are different and have struggles. It’s important to have these conversations.” 

 Another assignment was a persuasive speech, and Kim found inspiration from Bentley's Racial Justice Task Force discovery document. “I was inspired by Bentley's vulnerability and ability to admit how it has failed in the past but strives to make real changes moving forward,” Kim recalls. “The university put so much work into this, I thought it was important for students to uphold their parts, as well, since the campus can't change if individual students aren’t willing to put in the work.”

As Kim was speaking, she had what she calls a ‘wow’ moment. “I realized how important it was to become antiracist individuals, and I found myself wanting to take my antiracist efforts beyond just my speech.” 

TURNING UP THE VOLUME 

Following that speech, Kim began putting together action steps for Greek Life, in what would later become an antiracist action plan that Kim says “specifically aims to create institutional changes through antiracist efforts by incorporating DEI into every position in the chapter.” 

Though she was writing the plan on her own, “one page at a time,” Kim made connections across campus and drew support from the community. In addition to taking on a role as DEI chair in the Executive Council for Phi Sigma Sigma, she joined the university’s Inclusive Excellence Council and became an equity and inclusion consultant. Led by Benjamin Longstreth, assistant director of strategic projects in the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs, and Michael McCorvey, director of the Multicultural Center, student consultants advise from a DEI perspective and help incorporate feedback into different campus departments. Kim also leads meetings for the Inclusion and Belonging Council for Fraternity and Sorority Life, part of the Office of Student Programs and Engagement (SPE), with Nicole Chabot-Wieferich, associate dean of student engagement. “All that experience I have applied to my position in Greek Life,” Kim says. 

It has paid off. The Phi Sigma Sigma action plan, “Paving the Path for Our Future,” is slated for publication at the end of the spring 2022 semester and includes goals such as antiracist training and skills development; the creation of a safe space for members to engage in conversations about race, identity and social justice; and the development of a centralized system for reporting incidents of discrimination, harassment and biases within the chapter to ensure accountability and transparency. 

On April 22, Phi Sigma Sigma was the first Greek organization to receive the Organization Equity & Inclusion Award as part of the Bentley SPEak awards, which aim to recognize individuals, groups and programs that have enriched the Bentley community by creating environments and opportunities that facilitate authentic social connections and holistic student development.  

Kim’s work to create an inclusive and safe community also includes serving as a relationship and sexual violence peer educator on campus. She is part of Bentley’s Women's Leadership Program and is co-founder and vice president of the Bentley chapter of Leading Women of Tomorrow. In spring 2022, she became the inaugural DEI chair in the Executive Board for Phi Sigma Sigma. Kim also added a Law minor and plans to attend law school and pursue a career rooted in social justice and inclusivity.  

“I struggled with who I was for so long, but I realized that I have so many privileges compared to others,” Kim says. “My goal in life is really to help make a difference, particularly for those who can’t help themselves. That is what fuels me.”