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Being a rebel with Kira Elvey
From Wall Street trader and shoe designer to real estate guru – and an advocate for UCL in the United States – Kira Elvey (UCL French and History of Art BA 1993) is an inspiration to many.
26 March 2025
Kira Elvey is fearlessly adventurous; a trait she has carried with her throughout her life. She’s explored vastly different careers – reaching incredible heights within each. And she’s a steadfast supporter of UCL, where she happily studied (in both the UCL Faculty of Arts & Humanities and Faculty of Social & Historical Sciences) from 1989 to 1993.
Finding the right educational path
Born in South Africa and raised in New York City. Kira was expected to follow in the high-flying footsteps of the students from her all-girls school. And that trajectory almost always started at college in the United States. “But I was a rebel,” Kira says. “I wanted to be an artist. And I knew the best art school in the world was the UCL Slade School of Fine Art, so I focused all my research on how to get into the Slade.”
At the time, A-Levels were a requirement for entry, so Kira moved to England to re-do the last two years of secondary school so she could get A-Levels. Her ambitions shifted slightly during her first term, but she was still intent on going to UCL. She ended up getting a place to study BA in French and History of Art at UCL, a programme that accepted her US credentials.
A world-class education
Kira studied at UCL from 1989 to 1993, which included a year studying in France, and she describes this time as “the best years of my life.”
She recalls sitting with her peers in small classes with Professor Michael Worton CBE FCIL, an expert in French literature, and realising what an incredible education she was getting. “I literally felt my brain expand,” she says. “I was learning so much, I could feel the new neural pathways being created. I remember those little nuggets of time – they mean the world to me.”
She also found time outside of her studies to experience everything the university had to offer. "The Student Union was really cool – there was so much to get involved in – and I remember loving the £1 movie nights at the Bloomsbury Theatre!"
Kira is a great believer that a degree from a top university opens doors to the wider world, whatever subject you study. “I got a world-class education at UCL, and I subscribe to the view that you can study something, then go and work in something else,” she says. “My first job was on Wall Street! I got my licence to be a Wall Street trader, and I worked there for several years for a few different firms, including a French one. I could do that with a French and Art History degree from UCL!”
She went on to become a shoe designer in Los Angeles and Taiwan – “that was, to date, still my favourite job” – became the director of a French art gallery in Miami, and then became a real estate professional, which she still does for the government in Washington, D.C, where she is currently based.
A champion for UCL alumni
Kira gradually became involved with the UCL alumni community once she’d graduated. After attending a Washington, D.C. alumni event in 2014, she became a board member of the UCL Friends and Alumni Association (UCLFAA).
Offering special tax exemptions on donations from US donors, the UCLFAA allows alumni and supporters in the United States to make a meaningful impact by contributing to UCL’s groundbreaking projects and academic excellence.
“I relish the connection to UCL through this involvement,” Kira says. Since 2023, she has helped lead the UCL Washington D.C. Alumni Group, organising activities to cultivate a vibrant local community.
She remains in close contact with many of her friends from her time at UCL, encouraging them to stay connected to the university and "all the fun it offers". She also urges them to contribute to UCL's global fundraising initiatives as much as they are able. In addition, she has supported UCL’s student recruitment efforts in the US by sharing her experiences and insights with prospective students. “If prospective students are interviewing for colleges and wondering which direction to go in, talking to alumni can really help them make that decision,” she says.
Nurturing intellectual curiosity
With triplet daughters coming up to university age, Kira is keen to encourage a love of learning and curiosity. “I remember visiting UCL when my girls were little, and we were looking through a catalogue of all the courses you could do,” Kira remembers. “I told them to pick out the courses they felt most excited about. I still tell them the same today. Study what your heart wants to study. You could work in that area, but also a multitude of other arenas.”
Kira, her daughters and Professor Antonio Sennis, Associate Professor of Medieval History and Head of the UCL History Department at an information and networking session for prosepctive students, offer holders and alumni in Washington DC.
Kira worries that real learning and intellectual pursuits are declining trends. “Some people nowadays don’t see the necessity of being curious, because Google is at your fingertips. You can know anything instantaneously, but that’s not learning, that’s not connecting the dots,” Kira says.
“Real intellectual curiosity needs to be nurtured and encouraged. What I really remember about being at UCL is being in an environment where there’s boundless curiosity and excitement about learning."
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