Kiara Cole ’12
Kiara Cole ‘12 was born in Calcutta (Kolkata), India, and grew up in Morrisville, Vermont. “Growing up in Vermont [as an adoptee] was challenging at times as I became more conscious of identity and largely lacked exposure to other Indians, people of color, and cultures in the area. That was actually a major factor in my decision to attend the Academy. However, traveling back to India and moving out of Vermont has given me a great appreciation for the state — the outdoors was the best playground to have as a kid. I loved wandering the woods, building in the snow, climbing trees, and riding bikes with my neighbors.”
When asked about her overall experience at SJA, she shared that while it was an adjustment, it was memorable. “One of the things about SJA that resonates with me is the creativity many of the teachers incorporated into their lessons. Who could forget the Brutus/Cassius mock trial we conducted in Mrs. Scavitto’s World Civilizations class, learning Spanish through the lyrics of Juanes songs, or examining the ways Hollywood movies often defied the laws of physics?”
The teachers that most influenced Kiara were those who offered her a strong foundation in the field she would eventually pursue professionally. “Jason Scherer (former art faculty) was the first to introduce me to the basics of editing and ultimately how to capture fly-on-the-wall documentary b-roll with the many hours of senior year footage shot and logged — sorry, Class of 2012. Rosie Prevost’s (Art Department Chair) film photography classes taught me how to be intentional when capturing an image and to have patience during the creative process. A final piece of advice she imparted was not to give away our work for free. This is something I’ve never forgotten and now try to share with students in my organization’s program. I cannot leave out Mrs. Hraibi (Art faculty). She helped me to become more confident and comfortable in my own skin through her incredible dance instruction. If I could express a story through visuals or dance, I would take that over public speaking any day. These three taught and inspired me to do just that.”
After graduating, Kiara’s college career began across the state at Burlington College, a school with about 150 students. She was enrolled in their year-long film intensive program, planning to graduate with a certificate and then transfer to a more competitive film school for a bachelor’s degree. She recalls, “My transition to college was smooth and seemingly insignificant because I commuted from home, and I was so focused on learning the ins and outs of production, from screenwriting to filming on 16mm, editing in Final Cut Pro 7, to producing my first student documentary that I often felt like I was in a summer camp or taking an adventure gap year. I wasn’t regularly challenged to balance general subjects with my creative workload, but when it came to writing essays for media theory or researching for documentaries, it came easily to me because of the skills learned and quality expected at SJA.”
Kiara graduated from Burlington College and went on to pursue her bachelor’s degree at Emerson College in Boston. “This was undoubtedly a shift away from my comfort zone, but again, the processes I had learned at SJA greatly aided me, from studying habits to research papers and public presentations (thank you, Capstone). I even put my math classes to use in sound design, something I honestly thought I would rarely use.”
Kiara is currently the administrative manager for a nonprofit organization, The Loop Lab, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Their mission is to empower young women and people of color to find jobs in the media arts and A/V industries through training and job placement. Currently, the group serves youth ages 14-26 in Greater Boston through high school programming and a Media Arts Apprenticeship program that is an alternative to traditional college. They also run a small production studio that enables students to continue their learning on set in service of local artists, other nonprofits, corporate partners, and schools looking for content like podcasts, live streaming, mini-documentaries, and event videography.
“I’ve had a passion for storytelling since I could tote books around my childhood home, and it has influenced many of my life decisions. I was thankful to work in Los Angeles’s documentary industry for almost four years before COVID-19 pushed me back to the East Coast. My experiences in Los Angeles and shift into adoption advocacy alongside the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement during quarantine motivated me to seek a career where social justice and media production might be intertwined.”
What does her day-to-day look like? “The Loop Lab currently operates out of three different addresses. I act as a thought partner when our academy or studio team requires logistical support, so my location changes daily based on need. In 2023 and 2024, our studio is partnering with the Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture (MOAC) to award 30 emerging, Boston-based artists with fully paid media documentation services. We won a bid to receive the funding from MOAC, but the award process was in our hands. This required the production manager and me to build the grant application, criteria, and procedure; create a production contract; determine a timeline; write and produce marketing materials; process the received applications; and send acceptances. Now, the studio will produce 30 productions.
No matter where I’m based for the day, I am documenting — guides, procedures, human resource trainings, and project updates. My hats can switch hour-to-hour, and you can expect my email and Slack to always be open.”
It’s getting to know and experience the growth of their media arts apprentices that makes the day-to-day challenges [of providing administrative support] worth it for Kiara. “Each apprenticeship program brings about 8-10 students into our office for six months each year. When these students start, it’s like the first day of high school at SJA; they’re nervous, their skill levels all differ, and they have different cultures and stories. They are eager and creative, though. Using the technical and life skills our instructors teach them, they find ways to tell stories that are different and impressive. Sharing in their sense of accomplishment when we screen their final films in front of an audience at a local moviehouse is the best part. Everyone feels the impact that day.”
What piece of advice does she have for current SJA students? “Speak up for what you believe in. If you want to see change, inspire others and work in community with them to build a movement and create that change. You are not only high school students, you are people with stories and life experiences to share, and we, as adults, can always learn from you, too. Also, don’t forget to be kind to yourself.”