Kiara Aranda

College y Consejos Coach

Kiara Aranda serves as a Virtual College Access Advisor for College y Consejos with LatinxEd. Her experiences as the daughter of Mexican immigrants growing up low-income in rural NC has deeply shaped her passion for college access and education. In 2014, Kiara graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Political Science and Latin American studies. She immediately began serving as a College Adviser with the Carolina College Advising Corps supporting underrepresented students pursuing higher education in Charlotte, NC. Serving with CCAC further cemented her passion for college access, and in 2016 she began working with the Emily K Center as a College Readiness Counselor. For three years, she provided individualized assistance to 34 students as they navigated both high school and the journey to college. In 2019, she transitioned to serving as the College Persistence Manager with the Scholars on Campus program at the Emily K Center and now serves college students to provide them the assistance needed to ensure they persist while in college. Kiara is excited and looking forward to working with the LatinxEd team to disrupt and dismantle the systems which present barriers to Latinx students as they pursue a college education.