Alumni Spotlight: BeLynn Hollers

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Recent graduate from the class of 2021, BeLynn Hollers has been hard at work as the Intercollegiate Studies Institute News Fellow for the Dallas Morning News, covering politics, women’s health and religion.

The interviewer turned interviewee spoke about how her politics degree prepared her for the topics she covers on a daily basis at her job. 

“I engage with a lot of legal issues in my current coverage,” Hollers said. “To know that I have a really good grasp of the Constitution that I can pull out of my back pocket while I’m doing interviews with lawyers and politicians really gives me confidence.”

Over the course of this past year, Hollers has been able to interview a wide range of people, speaking about how she enjoyed learning “about different value sets and how that’s been amplified in the larger community of Dallas.”

To be a storyteller as her main job is a dream that began with her time on The University News here on campus. Working for the school paper as an editor and reporter was “the experience that made me … fall in love with UD and fall in love with writing,” said Hollers. 

Reflecting on her UD education, she spoke about how she initially didn’t understand the true value of all the knowledge she had gained. Hollers said, “the further I’d gotten from graduation, the more I realized that UD doesn’t teach you what the good life is, but it does teach you how to find it.”

For students getting ready to face post-graduation life, Hollers advises flexibility and gratitude. “It’s important to realize that the decisions you make right now might look a lot different a year from now. And plans are just that,” said Hollers. “I had a plan for post-graduation and a week before I graduated, that changed, and I’m so thankful it did because I’m doing … my dream job.”

Before leaving the bubble of UD behind, Hollers also encouraged students to thank those that have helped them along the way. 

Hollers said, “I think you should take a lot of time to contemplate about the professors, the staff members, or even students who’ve made an impact on your life and make the effort to tell them that, whether that’s a thank you card, or just like dropping by their office … Some of my professors absolutely changed my life. And I wouldn’t be who I am today without their guidance and mentorship.”
Moving forward, Hollers plans to further her journalism career and enjoy whatever adventures come along with it. You can find more about Belynn’s work at https://www.dallasnews.com/author/belynn-hollers/ or follow her on Twitter @ belynnhollers.

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