![\"Ellen](\"http:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/goldsmith_vein_250x275.jpg\")
What\u2019s the key to fulfillment in life? According to Ellen Goldsmith-Vein \u201984, the leader of a company that represents some of the most creative minds in the entertainment industry, it isn\u2019t just ambition or hard work.
\n\u201cRemember to be kind. Treat people the way you would want to be treated,” the owner and CEO of the Gotham Group encouraged graduates during Hollins’ 172nd Commencement Exercises on May 25. \u201cIt costs nothing, but it pays enormous dividends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goldsmith-Vein is widely considered to be one of the most powerful women in Hollywood. She was the first talent manager ever featured on the cover of the \u201cPower 100\u201d special issue of The Hollywood Reporter<\/em> in 2006, and is the only woman to own her own entertainment management company completely. In addition to boasting a client list that includes 500 top directors, writers, producers, authors, illustrators, and publishers, the Gotham Group produces a host of live-action and animated movies and television programs.<\/p>\n While she was composing her commencement address, Goldsmith-Vein recalled, \u201cThe thought occurred to me that what I should write about was something that I learned here at Hollins that has been a central precept in my life, something that transcends all things: Kindness. The Dalai Lama once said, \u2018Be kind whenever possible.\u2019 And then he added, \u2018It is always possible.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Goldsmith-Vein spoke of how applying that philosophy as a business woman has helped her not only to achieve personally, but also to inspire her employees. \u201cI have found that a kind word at the right time makes them not only happy in the moment, but more fulfilled, loyal, and in the long run more successful.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd kindness is what keeps you human through the madness, and keeps the monster of greed out of the war of ambition.\u201d<\/p>\n Following Goldsmith-Vein\u2019s address, Thomas Barron, chair of Hollins\u2019 Board of Trustees, awarded her the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa<\/em> in recognition of her personal and career accomplishments.<\/p>\n Photo by Amy Nance-Pearman ’97 When you visit the Hollins website late this fall, you\u2019ll see something new: an updated design, new photography, and a modern approach to telling the Hollins story in compelling ways.<\/p>\n But a large part of the work in the redesign of the site is taking place behind the scenes. That\u2019s because the site is being built to be responsive. NewCity, the Blacksburg, Virginia, company that is leading the marketing and admission offices through the process, began with the desktop size and then looked at the \u201cpoints where the design starts to break as the screen shrinks,\u201d said Matt Simmons, who works in client strategy and business development. \u201cAt each of the \u2018breakpoints\u2019 we decide how to modify the visual design and layout, keeping the overall look and feel intact.\u201d<\/p>\n In other words, the design will adapt to the device you\u2019re using, whether it\u2019s a smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer.<\/p>\n The website redesign is the second phase of Hollins\u2019 research and rebranding efforts. During the 2012-13 academic year, research was conducted through interviews and surveys of every important Hollins audience: alumnae, current and prospective students, parents, and campus community members. Those findings helped inform the rebranding of the university, which found expression in printed materials, including a suite of admission publications and Hollins<\/em> magazine. The website redesign project began with a review of proposals in the fall of 2013. The expected launch date of the new site is late October or early November.<\/p>\n The winning team at the statewide Ethics Bowl last February: Rory Keeley \u201917, Morgan Blalock \u201916, faculty coordinator Associate Professor of Philosophy James Downey, and Madchen Specht \u201916. Specht and Keeley represented Hollins at the Lafayette Debates.<\/p><\/div>\n Two Hollins students were among \u201cthe best and brightest student debaters\u201d at the Lafayette Debates, sponsored by the Embassy of France and George Washington University, in Washington, D.C., in April. Hollins\u2019 invitation to compete came on the heels of the university\u2019s debate team winning the 15th annual statewide collegiate Wells Fargo Ethics Bowl, held in February at Randolph-Macon College.<\/p>\n \u201cThe executive who organizes the Lafayette Debates witnessed Hollins\u2019 victory and was very impressed,\u201d said Associate Professor of Philosophy James Downey, who serves as the team\u2019s faculty coordinator.<\/p>\n Madchen Specht \u201916 and Rory Keeley \u201917 represented Hollins at the event, which focuses on addressing issues of great importance to both the United States and France as a way to encourage discourse and interaction between the two nations. Hollins faced the United States Military Academy in the first round and then defeated Hampden-Sydney College in the Rivals Round, which pitted rival schools against one another. In subsequent rounds, Hollins took on Wake Forest and NYU.<\/p>\n The standout golfer not only excelled on the course, she also performed well in the classroom. ODAC honored the chemistry major as its \u2028Women\u2019s Golf Scholar Athlete of the Year for the past two seasons, and the WGCA named her Scholar All American each of her four collegiate seasons.<\/p>\n Ciccarello capped a strong first year at Hollins by tying for sixth at the ODAC tournament. Her season average of 85.6 was seventh in the conference tables. She competed in seven events in the spring, posting three top-10 finishes. In addition, Ciccarello was named All-ODAC Second Team.<\/p>\n Photo by Sharon Meador<\/em><\/p>\n Cynthia Romero \u201914, Cecelia Parks \u201914, and Amanda Parsons \u201915 were the top prizewinners in the third annual Hollins Student Conference. Sponsored by the president\u2019s office, the conference showcases and celebrates scholarly and creative undergraduate work. Romero, an English major, read from her senior thesis, a work of creative nonfiction about her maternal grandparents. Parks, a double major in history and political science, wrote about southern women and the Civil War. Parsons, a communication studies major, analyzed the rhetorical devices used by Mary Fisher in her 1992 speech, \u201cA Whisper of AIDS.\u201d<\/p>\n Photo by Sharon Meador<\/em><\/p>\n Leslie Wessel M.A. \u201910: <\/strong>Tar Beach (Tar Beach<\/em> by Faith Ringgold) Photo by\u00a0 Sharon Meador<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Elizabeth Cheng ’14 and Shannon Ciccarello ’17 \u2014 one a seasoned collegiate golfer, and the other finishing her first year of competition in April \u2014 each had an outstanding golfing year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5662,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,6],"tags":[56],"class_list":["post-5426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-in_the_loop","tag-summer-2014"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5426"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7728,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5426\/revisions\/7728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/em><\/p>\n![\"divider\"](\"http:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/wave.png\")
<\/p>\nResponsive website coming this fall<\/h3>\n
New design responds to user\u2019s screen size<\/h4>\n
<\/p>\n![\"Ethics](\"http:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/ethics.jpg\" "\\"Ethics")
Students invited to Lafayette Debates<\/h3>\n
Trip to D.C. preceded by statewide Ethics Bowl victory<\/h4>\n
<\/p>\nGolfers win top honors<\/h3>\n
Senior cited for performance on the course and in class<\/h4>\n
![\"Shannon](\"http:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/ciccarello_cheng_250x275.jpg\")
Elizabeth Cheng \u201914 and Shannon Ciccarello \u201917\u2014one a seasoned collegiate golfer, and the other finishing her first year of competition in April\u2014each had an outstanding golfing year.
\nCheng, who left her mark as one of Hollins\u2019 most celebrated student-athletes ever, dominated the ODAC conference awards. She received two All-ODAC first-team selections, was named ODAC Women\u2019s Golfer of the Year, and won numerous ODAC Women’s Golfer of the Week awards. She was honored by the Women\u2019s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) as a three-time All East Region team member, 2013 second-team All American, and 2014 honorable-mention All American.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Cynthia](\"http:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/romero_parks_parsons_250.jpg\")
Hollins Student Conference prizewinners<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n![\"Instructors](\"http:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/childrenslit.jpg\" "\\"Children's")
Three faculty members in the children\u2019s book illustration summer program \u2014 Elizabeth Dulemba, Lauren Mills, and Ashley Wolff \u2014 hold up the winning location names that will be added to the sign. The winners of the contest from the summer 2013 issue of Hollins<\/em> magazine are:<\/p>\n
\n Linda Dunlap M.A. \u201912: <\/strong>Villa Villekulla (Pippi Longstocking<\/em> by Astrid Lindgren)
\n Betsy Smith Krahenbuhl \u201964: <\/strong>The Bunny Planet (The Bunny Planet<\/em> by Rosemary Wells)
\n Anna Moncure \u201907: <\/strong>Platform 9 3\/4 (from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
\n Margaret Winchell Miller \u201977: <\/strong>Klickitat Street (where Beezus and Ramona live in the books by Beverly Cleary)<\/p>\n