The Distinguished Young Alumna Award was presented to Allison Connolly '00 at Reunion 2010. A Hollins Scholar, Connolly graduated summa cum laude with a double-major in French and Spanish. She then earned her master's and Ph.D. in French and Francophone literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where as a teaching fellow and course coordinator she won the prestigious Tanner Award for excellence in undergraduate teaching. In 2007 she joined Centre College as assistant professor of French. After only two years at Centre she was presented the Kirk Award for Excellence in Teaching. She has served Hollins as class reporter, admissions volunteer, and a speaker at the Hollins Abroad-Paris 50th Reunion. She will serve as the director for the Centre-in-Strasbourg program for 2010-2011 in Strasbourg, France.

Veronica Votypka '99 received the inaugural Distinguished Young Alumna Award at Reunion 2009. She has risen through the ranks of television production starting with a Hollins internship at the local ABC television network affiliate. She went on to production jobs at The Evening News with Dan Rather, 60 Minutes, Charlie Rose, and now with The Oprah Winfrey Show. She won a business news Emmy for her work as associate producer with Charlie Rose. Her current work on Oprah involves developing show ideas, scouting talent, finding guests for the show, interviewing them in the field, and editing their stories.