Graduate Admissions & Financial Aid

Background

Education
Holly earned her BA from Whitman College, where she majored in English, and her MFA in Creative Writing: Fiction from Sarah Lawrence College.

Experience
Before joining Sarah Lawrence, Holly was Sr. Assistant Director of Admission/Communication Coordinator for Franklin & Marshall College’s Office of Admission in Lancaster, PA and prior to that, Assistant Director of Admission for Whitman College’s Office of Admission in Walla Walla, WA.

Interests

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, and am currently on the hunt for an agent to represent my debut novel. When not working or writing, you might catch me: cooking for the joy of it; reading, though never as quickly as I’d like; playing video games (currently I’m on Slay the Spire 2, Arc Raiders, Remnant 2, and endlessly replaying Elden Ring); or playing tabletop roleplaying games like D&D, Scum and Villainy, or Blades in the Dark with my friends.

Holly Answers Your Questions

What does the Associate Director of Enrollment do?
I serve as the primary coordinator for communications and outreach, communicating one-on-one with applicants and prospective students via phone and email. I help plan and coordinate on-campus visit opportunities for prospective students and plan and participate in virtual information sessions; I also represent SLC’s graduate programs at on and off-campus events. Behind the scenes, I partner with Financial Aid and the Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies on articulating the value of SLC graduate/professional degrees to students, and in processing applications for admission and institutional aid. While I don’t read applications – that’s best left to our talented Program Directors and their review committees – I also help coordinate the release of admission decisions alongside the Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies and the Enrollment Operations team.

What is your favorite part of your job?
As a graduate from SLC’s MFA in Writing, I’m thrilled to continue supporting my second alma mater. I love getting to work one-on-one with prospective students, helping them discover the program they are interested in, and assisting them as they navigate the application process. I also thoroughly enjoy working with the directors of our various graduate degree programs. We have a wonderful collaborative relationship!

You earned your MFA in Writing from SLC. What was your experience like being a Sarah Lawrence student?
I loved being a part of the close and vibrant community of writers that this program promotes. I found SLC at a point in my life and career when I was in sincere need of a reset – Sarah Lawrence and the Writing community gave me exactly the environment I needed. During my time as a student I took advantage of as many opportunities as I could – from student and faculty readings, to our student-run annual poetry festival, to our literary colloquium (a weekly series of talks by faculty members, visiting writers, and publishing-industry professionals), all in addition to my coursework, bi-weekly conference meetings with faculty, and my stints working with the Writing Institute. With the Writing Institute I worked as a teaching artist in the Yonkers Public School and during the summer Writer’s Week, a week-long program for high school students that combined writing and theatre.

I came to SLC looking to rediscover myself and my writing. Now, I’m writing more than ever (and am currently querying my first novel), in love with my community, and have no intention of leaving anytime soon.