The Power of Internships<\/h4>\n
Hollins\u2019\u00a0Signature Internship Program made much of her achievement possible, she says. \u201cMy choice in college was influenced by the fact that I later wanted to go on to law school, but internships intimidated me. How was I going to take time during a semester to do an internship? They\u2019re not paid, so how would I live somewhere? With Hollins and the January Short Term, I was able to do an internship, receive a stipend, have housing provided, and not miss any school.\u201d<\/p>\n Makseyn completed three Signature Internships, all in Washington, D.C.: with the office of U.S. Senator Al Franken, the nonprofit Lawyers\u2019 Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the American Healthcare Association. Studying abroad in London her junior year, she interned with a member of Parliament, Virendra Sharma, whose constituency is largely Indian and Southeast Asian.<\/p>\n Makseyn augmented her real-world experience, and honed her public speaking, multitasking, research, and debating skills, by participating in Model United Nations (MUN) and Model Arab League (MAL). At MUN and MAL conferences, she encountered \u201ccrisis simulations\u2014and you have to figure out how to deal with them,\u201d she explains. \u201cI learned how to find my voice.\u201d<\/p>\n With a likely focus on healthcare law, Makseyn is attending George Washington University Law School. Concurrently, she plans to complete a master\u2019s degree in public health. \u201cEventually, I want to work in politics,\u201d she says, \u201cso I want to be well-versed in healthcare policies.\u201d<\/p>\n At Hollins, her curiosity and sense of adventure continued to flourish. She devoted January Short Terms to traveling in Japan and Greece and spent full semesters studying abroad in London and Paris. She completed internships with Peace Boat US in New York City; the Diplomatic and Consular Officers Retired in Washington, D.C.; and the\u00a0Nursing Times<\/em>\u00a0in London.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a testament to Hollins and its flexibility that I was able to fit in so much,\u201d Potter says. \u201cThe school made each of these experiences possible. I don\u2019t hear from my friends at other schools that they receive the same support to participate in these kinds of extracurricular opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n A double major in English and international studies, Potter was drawn to Hollins because she knew that the university \u201cmakes good writers, and good writers seek out Hollins.\u201d She took classes in philosophy, gender and women\u2019s studies, statistical analysis, \u201cand a lot of French\u201d in addition to the coursework in her majors. She also earned a certificate in leadership studies from the\u00a0Batten Leadership Institute<\/a>. \u201cThat was one of the strongest pulls of Hollins for me. I didn\u2019t see women-centered leadership development courses at other universities.\u201d<\/p>\n Potter is attending William & Mary Law School. \u201cIt\u2019s a really good fusion of my love of English and rhetoric and my desire to get out there and do something positive in the world. I\u2019m interested in human rights law, and I\u2019d like to live internationally and work in either the nonprofit or foreign service sectors.\u201d<\/p>\n The campus beauty and \u201ca really strong creative writing program\u201d are what drew her to Hollins, after living most of her life in Phoenix, Arizona. \u201cI came here not knowing what I wanted to study. I\u2019m interested in so many things,\u201d she says. After taking classes in several disciplines, she chose to major in English with a concentration in multicultural literature and a minor in social justice.<\/p>\n She describes her Hollins experience as \u201cfinding the power of my voice. Poetry to me is not only something you read or that\u2019s visual. It\u2019s also very sensory. I love doing music with my poetry.\u201d<\/p>\n Her talent for expression evolved when she took voice lessons at Hollins. An experience in the theatre department helped her overcome her shyness. \u201cI want to speak my poetry more now in public, and instead of just submitting my work for publication, I\u2019d like to get into slam poetry,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n She has a fellowship this year at the College of William and Mary\u2019s Swem Library, working with its Project Outreach initiative on making inclusivity and diversity more prevalent in academic research. She then hopes to attend law school and focus on some aspect of Native American law (her roots are Scotch-Irish and Din\u00e9, the Navajo Nation\u2019s preferred name, which translates to \u201cof the people\u201d). \u201cI\u2019d like to get an M.F.A. in creative writing after law school and eventually teach Native American voice through poetry in conjunction with Native American studies,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cComing into Hollins, I was looking at combining art and psychology and becoming an art therapist,\u201d she explains, \u201cbut ultimately I decided this wasn\u2019t what I wanted to do. During the first semester of my sophomore year, I took a class in every department on campus in which I was interested. I fell in love with [Professor of Practice-Business] Karen Messer-Bourgoin\u2019s [\u201984] marketing class. I even did my own marketing research projects for fun.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to honing her photography skills through an internship with Boyd-Pearman Photography (co-owned by Amy Cavanaugh Pearman \u201997), Daley served as a student chaplain. She discovered a creative way to boost students\u2019 spirits, one that landed her a spot on the website\u00a0Women You Should Know. She made bottle-cap pins \u201cwith inspirational messages and handed them out to students. It was a simple way of saying, \u2018Here\u2019s a little something to brighten your day and remind you that you\u2019re loved and you\u2019re important.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Daley developed an interest in business-to-consumer marketing after a\u00a0Signature Internship\u00a0with Atlanta-based Scout, an advertising agency that focuses on healthcare and consumer goods. Last fall she started a master\u2019s degree program in marketing at Vanderbilt University.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven there are a lot of public health implications in regard to tick research, working with Dr. Gleim and Dr. Wilson was the best option for me,\u201d Morris says. \u201cWe decided my project should focus on species composition and the abundance and phenology of ticks in Southwest Virginia to better comprehend disease ecology in the Roanoke Valley. This included understanding what tick species are present and what times of the year they are active.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Samantha](\"http:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/makseyn.jpg\")
At age 14, Samantha<\/strong> \u201cSami\u201d Makseyn \u201919<\/strong> faced the biggest challenge of her young life. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, she spent 11 days in a coma and missed nine weeks of school. The experience transformed her into a force for change. Passionate about healthcare advocacy, she helped found a nonprofit organization for youth advocacy in politics and legislation when she was just 18. Before she turned 21, she had already worked in both American and international government.<\/p>\nSense of Adventure<\/h4>\n
![\"Lillian](\"http:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/potter.jpg\")
To illustrate his daughter\u2019s fearlessness, Lillian <\/strong>\u201cLilly\u201d Potter \u201919<\/strong> says her dad loves to tell the story of her childhood trip to India for a family wedding. \u201cWe encountered a cobra charmer, and I just went and tried to pet the cobra. Fortunately, my dad got me away in time.\u201d<\/p>\nThe Music of Poetry<\/h4>\n
![\"Yitazba](\"http:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/largo-anderson.jpg\")
When deciding on a college, Yitazba Largo-Anderson \u201919 <\/strong>turned to her family for advice. \u201cMy dad is a professor and my mom is a librarian, and they value education,\u201d she explains. \u201cThey urged me to go to a liberal arts school because they knew it would help me round out who I am as a person.\u201d<\/p>\nA Woman You Should Know<\/h4>\n
![\"Mary](\"http:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/daley.jpg\")
She describes it as \u201ckind of a running joke\u201d between herself and the Office of Admission, but no one can say Mary Daley \u201919<\/strong> wasn\u2019t diligent in researching Hollins before enrolling. \u201cI first found Hollins during my sophomore year of high school when I was just starting to look at colleges, and I visited about once a month for the rest of the time I was in high school.\u201d She also took the Hollinsummer creative writing course.<\/p>\nGoing Viral<\/h4>\n
![\"Ciera](\"http:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/morris.jpg\")
When biology major Ciera Morris \u201919<\/strong> wanted to challenge herself by completing a voluntary senior thesis, she sought a project that would reflect her interest in infectious disease research as it relates to public health. Collaborating with biology professors Elizabeth Gleim \u201906 and Morgan Wilson, she found the perfect vehicle: exploring tick ecology in Southwest Virginia and its possible connection to the risk of Lyme disease.<\/p>\n
![\"Meaghan](\"http:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/harrington.jpg\")
Meaghan Harrington \u201919<\/strong> once believed her inability to focus on one interest or a single area of study reflected poorly upon her. \u201cIn a lot of places, there\u2019s really no space to be indecisive,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s viewed as a negative thing.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"April](\"http:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/arnold.jpg\")
As a student at Roanoke\u2019s Virginia Western Community College, April Arnold \u201919 <\/strong>wasn\u2019t certain a four-year degree was in her future. Her mom was raising Arnold\u2019s four younger siblings (three of whom were actually cousins who were adopted after their own mother died) when she suffered an accident that left her on disability. Arnold had to take on significant responsibility in helping care for her family.<\/p>\n