Kim Smiley completed her undergraduate degree at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. She specialized in comparative religion, cultural anthropology and art history. Smiley completed graduate school at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She specialized in Asian Religion, Compassion, Mysticism and Women's Studies. Smiley was awarded the John E. Thayer Award from Harvard University's Committee on General Scholarships, conferred to the student who graduates at the top of their class.
