To say 2020 has been a year of transitions for Kira DeSimone, might be an understatement.

After graduating Westover in 2016, Kira went on to attend Barnard College in New York City, majoring in Psychology and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Yet, as the coronavirus pandemic crept in and rapidly shifted lives in early 2020, they found themselves suddenly in flux-- just as their next chapter was set to begin.

“Graduating from college in the middle of a pandemic did not make me feel incredibly hopeful for finding a job and starting the next phase of my life,” Kira said.

But as 2020 proved, flexibility, timing and taking advantage of each and every opportunity has been key. Kira, who was a peer-educator in the Well-Woman Health Promotion Program at Barnard, knew they wanted to continue the impactful work for affirming, inclusive, and accessible wellness and health education, especially for adolescents.

“I knew that working in a high school would be really rewarding for me because adolescence is such a critical time to focus on topics of wellness, health, and sex education,” Kira said.

So when the positions of Inclusion Program Coordinator and Dorm Parent arose at Westover, the transition back was a no-brainer for Kira.

“When I was offered the opportunity to come back to Westover as a Dorm Parent and Inclusion Program Coordinator, I was very excited that my first job out of college would actually relate to my interests and skills,” they said. “Westover is now my first full-time job, and I feel incredibly privileged to have found a job during a pandemic.”

After a pivotal summer that featured many youth-led social justice initiatives, including the creation of social media accounts in which current students and alums shared their own personal experiences at private schools – including many difficult, powerful and painful stories dealing with the matters of diversity and equity – Kira was reminded of their own personal journey at Westover.

“I feel a deep commitment to see Westover do and be better for current and future students. The work current students were doing to address inequities at the school was also absolutely incredible, and I wanted to support them in any way I could, first as an alum and now as a faculty member,” Kira said.

Working in the Rasin Center for Global Justice as the Inclusion Program Coordinator, Kira said, their role is focused on uplifting and supporting students with concerns, ideas, questions, or topics of equity. Building trust and relationships are two key goals for Kira this academic year.

“I do not see myself as some kind of savior at all but rather just an advocate and cheerleader for students,” they said. “The most effective and impactful change really can only happen when students are driving the conversation with support from those around them. I also thought back to when I was a student and thought how impactful it would have been for me to see an adult who was openly trans/gender nonconforming and used they/them pronouns. Selfishly, I liked the idea of being that adult for a student now.”

Since this fall, Kira has worked closely with Chief Strategic Officer, Mary Taylor-Lewis, in helping with diversity, equity and inclusion work for faculty,staff and students, including the Climate Assessment of the School this fall. In December, Kira took the lead in managing the logistics and working with the students that attended the annual National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Online Student Diversity Leadership Conference.

Kira explained another goal this year is working on incorporating equity into all aspects of Westover whether that is the health/wellness center, residential life, curriculum, and/or school policy.

While Kira, who grew up seven minutes from Westover in Woodbury, was a day student, they know how special and unique the Westover dorms are and what they mean to students.

“It was so fun to see how my peers really made memories and connections during those evening hours,” Kira said. “I am so looking forward to one day, safely, being able to create that warm, welcoming environment where we can have game nights, silly or serious debates, and yummy snacks. After the classroom, the dorm is where students spend the majority of their time, so the dorm is so important!”

While being a dorm parent during the pandemic, interaction with students has all been virtual, so the goals of holding a space for students to relax and decompress are at the forefront.

“If I can be an adult that students feel comfortable laughing in front of and telling me about their favorite TikToks, I will feel like I have won,” they said. “Especially during virtual learning, I want to create spaces on Zoom that don’t feel like class and allow students to connect  with each other and get to know the folks that are on the other side of the screen.”

Described as a “true Taurus” -- warm, comforting, goofy, empathetic, intentional, clumsy, and stubborn, outside of Westover --Kira is a self-obsessed Hallmark Channel watcher, crocheter and baker, and hopeful dog-owner.

“My goal is to always come across as an open person you can talk to and don’t need to take yourself too seriously around because I certainly have no qualms about making a fool of myself,” they said.

And while the bridge from alumnae to now current staff member has also been a “transition,” it’s one Kira is enjoying.

“The first time I was in a faculty meeting was so funny and strange because many of my teachers are still at Westover,” they said. “Suddenly being their ‘co-worker’ felt like such a humorous transition. Getting to know students has been really rewarding.”