Kim was born and raised in McMinnville. She started swimming when she was 9 years old and swam all the way through high school. Kim attended Oregon State University where she played water polo and majored in Exercise and Sports Science. After graduation she moved to Tigard to be closer to family.  Kim has continued to teach swim lessons throughout her school years but made the switch to coaching when she came to TTSC in 2007. In addition to coaching she works at Nike and is completing her Masters in Communications at Gonzaga University.