Kiestin's connection to the District Five community runs deep, as he grew up in the area and attended its schools through middle school. The values he developed during those formative years laid the foundation for his success at St. James High School in Murrells Inlet, SC. There, he maintained a rigorous schedule both academically and through extracurricular activities, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.7 GPA and earning the title of AP Scholar with Distinction. He was selected as his school’s Palmetto Boys State representative and honored with the St. James High School Citizenship Award for his commitment to community impact through his organization, For the Culture (FTC). 

As part of FTC, Kiestin partnered with the Grand Strand Boys and Girls Club as a 'Book Buddy,' providing companionship and literacy support to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. He also collaborated with Freewoods Farm for a cultural spring festival, delivering a public address and helping coordinate a charity fundraiser that raised significant donations. In addition to his community work, Kiestin was a two-year member of both the varsity football and varsity track and field teams.

Currently, Kiestin is a sophomore honors student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is a Robertson Leadership Scholar, a prestigious full-ride merit scholarship that grants him dual enrollment at both Duke University and UNC. This opportunity has allowed him to focus academically on urban development, entrepreneurship, data science, and visual arts. Kiestin is also a member of the Black Venture Capital Consortium (BVCC), where he aims to leverage his knowledge of alternative investments to direct financial resources toward underserved communities. Additionally, he serves on the undergraduate executive team of echoReverb, a nonprofit social enterprise incubator teaching youth how to build startups for social change.