As a first-generation, working student and Pell recipient, Hallie became an expert in navigating the multitude of detours that one can take in higher education. Although she excelled in school, she had little idea about what she wanted to do. She finally graduated (at 28 years old!) with a BA in Sociology, and her only goal was to secure a job in public service. She landed in the county school system, where she was a paraprofessional for high school English and Math. Eventually, she made her way into higher education at a community college, first in the registrar’s office and then in the financial aid department. She went back to school to get her master’s in Sociology, wanting to teach at the college. It was during her graduate program and subsequent work in financial aid that she learned that she loved statistics, working with data, and could be happy for the rest of her life living in an Excel spreadsheet. She is lucky to have found an opportunity that allows her to combine her love of meticulous data work with advancing equity in higher education.
In her spare time, she loves to be outside with her dog, playing video, card, or board games, drinking tea, and living her best homebody life.