Nicole Kim '20

Nicole Kim '20 has played volleyball for as long as she can remember. She's good at it, and she takes it seriously as a member of Bryant's Division I team. Kim likes to win, but, more than anything, she values her teammates and the unique bond she's formed with them.

“We play for each other, and we win for each other,” says Kim. “No matter what happens in the end, we’ll always be there for each other.”

That teamwork and sense of community extends off the court as well; she says it’s an everyday part of life at Bryant. Beyond her close network of coaches, friends, teammates, and supportive professors, Kim knows there’s a whole world of mentors available to her.

“Bryant has so many different connections – there are so many people who come to campus for career fairs, to recruit, to guest lecture in classes, to speak at conferences,” she says. “They all care about Bryant, and love Bryant students and want to help them succeed.”

A member of the North East Conference Fall Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Kim works as a tutor in Bryant’s Academic Center for Excellence, where she helps students with their studies in accounting and economics.

“It’s really rewarding to work with students and help them to break through and understand,” she notes. “It’s a great feeling when you see that something has begun to make sense to them, or they say ‘Oh! I get it and I love accounting now,’” Kim says with a laugh.

She’s given back in other ways as well, including serving as a volunteer coach for Rhode Island Special Olympics athletes and interning with the organization to construct practice plans and coordinate the Special Olympics Tournament at Bryant.

In the spring, the members of the volleyball team get together to spend a day with the Special Olympics athletes. “The people who we work with get really excited about it,” she says. “Volleyball is a really fun sport and I’m glad I get to share it with them.”