Elyssa Parker ‘25
B.A., International Studies (with Honors), Philosophy Minor
Hometown: Mechanicsville, Va.
A competitive rider from age five, Elyssa Parker qualified for the 2025 IHSA Nationals in Individual Limit Fences. At the 2024 Nationals, she placed seventh in team limit flat and eighth in fences—an impressive feat for someone who once doubted she’d ride in college. “Before committing, I took a lesson with Sherri West, coach and director of the Equestrian Program, and knew I could grow under her coaching,” she says.
Parker, a four-time ISHA and ODAC All-Academic First Team honoree, served as senior captain of the Hollins Equestrian Team. “Our team members come from different backgrounds, states, and countries and have different riding styles, but nothing beats the connection formed over a common love,” she says.
Equally strong academically, Parker majored in international studies and minored in philosophy to challenge herself. Through the Batten Leadership Certificate and a senior capstone with Washington and Lee University’s Blue Ridge Mile program, she helped non-violent offenders navigate driver’s license reinstatement. Her summer 2023 internship with ReEstablish Richmond offered similar support to refugees, deepening her understanding of legal barriers.
“My Refugees and Resettlement class opened my eyes to the challenges migrants face,” says Parker, whose honors thesis compared refugee resettlement in the U.S., Canada, and Italy. This fall, she’ll begin a master’s program at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia, with plans for law school and a career in immigration law.
She also supported recruitment events for admission and the barn, sharing the advice she followed herself: “Hollins is what you make it. There’s no pressure to do it all—but if you want to, you’ll have the support to succeed.”
Highlights
- Sarah McCutchen Cook International Studies Award
- Recipient of the 2024-2025 Hollins Athletics Coaches Excellence Award
- Honors Thesis: “Globally cross-examining case studies of refugee resettlement: How do these help us understand “successful” refugee integration? A look at refugees and how they are resettled in the USA, Canada, and Italy”
- Independent study on the inherent racism in the LSAT with Ashleigh Breske, Ph.D., assistant professor of International Studies, January 2024
