Secrets Shared

Some 75 alumnae returned to campus last fall for the third annual Career Connection Conference

Lindsey Pollak

“The alumnae you will hear from today will share their secrets—what they got right, what they got wrong, what they wished they knew when they were starting out,” said Judy Lambeth ’73 during her remarks at the conference’s opening ceremony. “When you have it all figured out and found your own personal definition of success, please come back here to Hollins and share your story with students,” she continued. “You will be part of the Hollins alumnae network, which is all about giving back to each other and extending a helping hand.”

One of those secrets came from the keynote speaker, Lindsey Pollak, an authority on training, managing, and marketing to the millennial generation. Her first career tip, “the most important one to take away today, is to avoid what I consider the biggest mistake in a job search or career at any level, but particularly at yours: Do not let fear get in your way of going for your biggest goals and dreams.”

Pollak wrote the best-selling Getting from College to Career: Your Essential Guide to Succeeding in the Real World and more recently Becoming the Boss: New Rules for the Next Generation of Leaders.

Students could attend 25 panels, workshops, and presentations presided over by alumnae.

Academic Accolades

•  Professor of English Marilyn Moriarty won the 2014 William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition Award in the essay category. Moriarty was honored for “Swerves,” which “brings to readers a clear-sighted vision and the confident measures of a riveting, necessary voice.” Moriarty’s novel-in-progress, The Book of Rivers and Cities, was also a finalist in the competition.

• A new study co-authored by Assistant Professor of Psychology Tiffany Pempek indicates that the presence of background television can impede the development of children’s language skills. Pempek and her fellow researchers observed parents interacting with their toddlers during a 60-minute session. For half of that time, a TV program consisting of content designed for older children and adults played in the background. While the TV was on, the quantity of words and phrases spoken as well as the number of new words spoken by the parents were lower than when the TV was off. Because American children under 24 months are exposed to an average of 5.5 hours of background TV per day, the effect on language development may be significant.

• NerdScholar, a financial literacy website for students, selected Associate Professor of Art Jennifer Anderson for its inaugural list of “40 Under 40: Professors Who Inspire.”

• Hollins Theatre was one of 67 theatre companies from nine countries cited by the International Centre for Women Playwrights (ICWP) for producing the work of women playwrights. The ICWP presented Hollins its 50/50 Applause Award, which spotlights theatres that produce 50 percent or more women playwrights in their season of shows.

• In December, Virginia Tech’s Perspective Gallery presented Fact, Fiction, Life, Death: Photographs by Robert Sulkin, professor of art. Sulkin creates photographs of thought-provoking constructs using found objects.

Head for the Hill

Renovations to the Hill Houses unveiled last fall

An early photo of Rath Haus and what is now called Sandusky. Rath Haus, built in 1907, was the home of Eric Rath, who was the head of the music department from 1907 until 1936. Rath Haus has also been a student residence hall, an informal student center, the home of IT, and now a residence hall again. Sandusky houses students interested in community service.

Navigation in the Hill House district is much easier, thanks to the network of new sidewalks connecting the buildings, almost all of which received improvements last summer. An addition to the top level of Talmadge Recital Hall now provides wheelchair access. Renovations to Rath Haus changed it from an office to a residence hall. Other residential buildings were outfitted with new furniture and carpet. And Sandusky, French House, Duchouquet, and Malvern Hill received new siding, new windows, and roof improvements.