She graduated from the College of William & Mary where she studied Film & Media and American Studies with a focus on gaming culture and digital interconnectivity. Kayla worked as the Digital Media Editor of The Flat Hat newspaper and her work has received the 2017 Regional Mark of Excellence Award for In-Depth Reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists and the 2016 William & Mary Rex Smith Journalism Award. Additionally, she participated in the 2016-2017 William & Mary-Pulitzer Center Sharp Writer-in-Residence Program and reported on U.S. colleges and their enslavement history.