[dropcap]P[\/dropcap]ediatrician Wendy Ault \u201972 will say that her longtime patient Caileigh Bravo \u201cfell in love with Hollins all by herself,\u201d but it didn\u2019t hurt that Ault planted the idea early. \u201cEver since I was a little kid she\u2019s been telling me all about Hollins and what a wonderful place it is,\u201d says Bravo.<\/p>\n
Bravo, a first-year student from Gainesville, Virginia, was so convinced she\u2019d made the right college choice that she applied early decision and found out she was accepted in December of her senior year of high school. \u201cI knew where I was going to school before my friends even applied,\u201d she says. \u201cI was a happy camper.\u201d<\/p>\n
No doubt what started the conversation going between Bravo and Ault was their mutual love of riding. \u201cWe always talk horses when I see her, and she told me what a fantastic barn Hollins has and how awesome the trainers are,\u201d says Bravo.<\/p>\n
[quote float=”right”]I was completely, 100 percent decided I wanted to be here.[\/quote] As a high school student, Bravo was pretty sure she wanted to apply to Hollins, but attending a Hollinsummer session made her certain. She took classes in creative writing and film and did some riding, too. After that experience, \u201cI was completely, 100 percent decided I wanted to be here,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Bravo enjoys riding, but she\u2019s passionate about film, and she was drawn to Hollins\u2019 increasingly well-known film program. She took advantage of the first-year internship program to work in January with a local photographer, and she\u2019s pursing a summer internship with a TV production company in Bethesda, Maryland. Although she\u2019s tentatively planning on a double major in film and mathematics, she\u2019s wise enough to keep her options open. Her dream career is to make \u201cmovie trailers, but it\u2019s such a specific, rare thing to do that I have to be a little open to different careers,\u201d she says. \u201cI have to see how my internships go.\u201d<\/p>\n
If a high school student were to ask her about Hollins, what would she say? \u201cI love, love, love the small community here,\u201d she replies. \u201cYou really get to know your professors on a personal level. You don\u2019t feel embarrassed to speak in class.\u201d She wonders if students at larger schools get the same opportunities as Hollins students. \u201cAre you getting the internships, studying abroad? I tell my friends that I\u2019ve already had an internship, and they can\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bravo continues to be grateful for Ault\u2019s recommendation. \u201cI don\u2019t think I would have known about Hollins otherwise, and I\u2019m so thankful because I love it here.\u201d<\/p>\n