 She states that she had wanted to be a journalist since the age of 12, and in her first year at the University of Iowa in 2004, she joined the student newspaper "The Daily Iowan".She graduated from the University of Iowa with a BS in journalism and political science in 2007, before earning an MA in journalism from American University.Kim started her career while still a student at the University of Iowa and American University, working as a reporter at a number of newspapers including "The Des Moines Register", the "St Petersburg Times" and "The Star-Ledger".