2024–25 UC Community Coordinator Kiara Andrade on Leadership and Community Impact

by Georgia Laidlaw

Days before donning her cap and gown at graduation, recent University College and Rotman Commerce graduate, Kiara Andrade, reflected on a transformative four-year journey marked by academic excellence, leadership, and community impact. 

Originally from Mumbai, Kiara played a pivotal role at the college as a UC Community Coordinator who supported approximately 3,000 commuter students through programming and mentorship at the UC Commuter Student Centre (CSC). 

With a specialization in management and a focus on finance, strategy, and innovation, on June 19th, Andrade officially joined the ranks of UC alumni, ready to take on all that comes next.

What was it like studying management at Rotman Commerce? Why did you decide to attend U of T, and how have you enjoyed living in the city?

Toronto's a great city. I’ve always lived — and absolutely love being — in a big city. I wanted to study abroad and get work experience wherever I studied. U of T was the best school in Canada so I thought, “I'm going to go there.”   

I originally applied as a social sciences student, intending to do economics, but realized Rotman was better aligned with what I wanted to do, so I did the entire Rotman supplementary application at the end of my first year. 

Rotman provides you with a pretty holistic view of business and a good foundation. Two courses that I really liked were RSM 493: Entrepreneurship, because you get to work with creating a business plan for an entire new business, and RSM 436: Sustainable Finance — that was a really cool class to see why money should be directed towards more sustainable initiatives and I would recommend it to others.

During your time as a student, you served as a UC Community Coordinator and Director of Consulting for the University of Toronto Consulting Association. Can you tell us more about your extracurriculars and how they complimented your studies? For someone who is unfamiliar with the role, what are Community Coordinators? 

Community Coordinators (CoCos) are commuter Dons or commuter assistance. They’re there for the needs of commuter students. I think that’s especially important not just at UC, but U of T, because we have such a large commuter population. Students can ask us any questions that they want about resources and things happening on campus. We've had a very broad range of programs over the years. Sometimes it's more topical: we had a Taylor Swift event when the concerts were happening and there would be bracelet making, photo booths and food. We also had passive events like a steps challenge every fall or drop-in events where you could pick up a treat and share some advice with someone.

The aim is to give students the opportunity to attend a program or participate in something that aligns with their interests to facilitate people meeting each other. 

In second year, I realized that consulting would be something that I was interested in after trying a bunch of different things. Strategy and innovation classes got me interested in consulting, while my extracurricular activities allowed me to actually do those things to see whether it was what I wanted to do. I joined multiple consulting clubs and the one that stuck out was the University of Toronto Consulting Association (UTCA), where I joined as an associate consultant, then team lead, then director for consulting. 

UTCA has eight pro bono consulting projects per academic year, and I oversaw all eight. We had a pretty broad range of nonprofit, FinTech, ESG, crypto, and health technology clients. I also oversaw hiring maybe 50 students. We got so many applications — I did not expect it to be as big of a responsibility as it ended up being, but it was so much fun.

Both of these experiences seem to heavily engage people. Can you share more about what you’ve learned about people, interpersonal connections and community? 

I've been really fortunate to be able to work with great people in these activities. It's definitely helped me become a better leader, take charge, make decisions, and have direction and follow through. 

In the CoCo role specifically, I really liked the fact that there was so much community building. It taught me the importance of collaboration and teamwork because I was always working with other people. It was a team of eight of us in my first year working in the role, and then seven of us last year. Having different people from different years, programs and places brought so many perspectives. We were able to come up with better programming and better events working together than if we had tried to do it individually. 

And it wasn't just us helping others build community — I really think that I've also found community in UC through these roles, because I've always wanted to be involved in the college and have that sense of belonging. 

Let me tell you the number of times I’ve walked into the UC Commuter Centre and seen friendships formed over an entire semester. People who didn't know each other would recognize each other and start hanging out. I've seen so many friend groups come out of there, and I think that's honestly really cute and what college community is meant to be: it's meeting people who you would never have met otherwise and then becoming friends. It’s really nice to see. 

You’re returning to Mastercard after interning there last summer—your second internship during undergrad. As someone who finds networking intimidating, how did you navigate it and what advice would you give to students seeking internships?  

The Rotman portal has a lot of different job postings that I would use when I was starting to look for positions.

More important than that, there are a lot of information and networking sessions that Rotman hosts with recruiters and professionals. Even though networking truly intimidates me, I think there is a lot of value in actually learning about these positions, roles, and what your life could actually look like. There are so many positions I discovered that I didn't even know existed, but because someone was there telling me about it I was able to look into it and learn so much more. 

Even if you aren't in Rotman, there are general postings and clinics. Colleges have career supports, and there are online webinars. Once you go for a couple of sessions, you get a better understanding of whatever field you might be interested in. 

Something that has really helped me shift my mindset is having students in their second or third year reach out to me to ask questions about recruiting, jobs, and clubs. I genuinely find joy in being able to help other people. Being in that position made me realize that there are other people out there who also want to help, and it's not always this intimidating thing that you're doing.

Now that you’ve graduated, are there any shout-outs you'd like to give to those who have helped you along the way? 

Shout out to my parents. Ever since I was young, they've always encouraged me to be independent in any way I could and I've been able to do everything that I've done. I know they think I can do it, which makes me think I can do it. At the end of the day, they always trust me to do what's best and I feel really confident having that support because I would not be here without them. 

Also, I love the UC Office of the Dean of Students because I’ve worked with them so closely for two years now and they’re all genuinely such great people to work with. I’m also thankful for Rotman career counselling – when I felt too intimidated to ask someone a question, I’ve sent them a lot of so-called 'stupid questions', and they’ve always been super helpful in telling me what to do. 

Finally, what advice would you offer to incoming first-year students? 

Say yes to as much as you can, but also give yourself grace. I have had very stressful classes and very, very stressful days. In those moments, you want to give yourself grace, but at the same time, when you have the opportunity, say 'yes' to as much as you can because there's so much that university has to offer. I've met really great people through doing that. You might find something that you never expected, and it might just be something great.