Alumni Profile: Kiaira Cooper ’14

Kiaira Cooper ’14 has a passion for sharing other people’s stories, and as the director of creative video for The University of California Berkeley’s women’s basketball team, this is something she has the privilege of doing daily. She says, “My job is to share people’s narratives, and through my work, I get to shed light on the stories that have the ability to impact others.”

Originally from Powder Springs, GA, Kiaira came to Covenant to play basketball and study art. She says her relationship with the Lord deepened in her time on the mountain because of the Christ-centered environment on Covenant’s campus. This was where she learned to appreciate that her entire life, including her education, was impacted by her faith. Her identity as a Christian became inseparably intertwined with every aspect of her life, and she says she owes much of that growth to the time she spent as a student-athlete at Covenant.

While at Covenant, Kiaira served in student government, as an orientation leader, and as secretary, treasurer, and eventually president of SAAC (student-athlete advisory committee). She says she has a strong passion for advocating for underrepresented people groups, specifically female athletes and racial minority groups, and she got to put this into practice at Covenant. While she is incredibly thankful for Covenant and the relationships she built here, she also says that her college years had challenges. 

Being a black student during the early 2010s came with challenges. Conversations about race were prominent on social media and amongst her peers, and Covenant had fewer students from minority backgrounds than we do now. Kiaira says being one of a handful of black students felt lonely and, at times, sad. Fortunately, she had friends, teammates, coaches, and professors who were eager to listen. Even when she felt alone, she knew she had people within the Covenant community supporting her and walking alongside her. 

Right after she graduated, Kiaira worked as Covenant’s assistant women’s basketball coach before working in athletics at Houghton College, The University of Idaho, The University of Kansas, and in her current job at UC Berkeley. Her role brings together athletics, creative video, and storytelling. Kiaira delights in sharing other people’s stories, specifically those of women and racial minorities in athletics, and her job allows her to share people’s narratives, shedding light on stories from underrepresented communities. She says, “I am proud of my journey and thankful for where I am today, knowing where I started and where I came from. Working in college sports can be challenging, and I have worked really hard to find my place in college athletics.”