Title IX Spotlight: Sarah Frazer Hollis

As part of the Southeast Conference’s 50th Anniversary of Title IX, the conference will feature alumni-athletes who have had successful careers outside of athletics.

Sarah Frazer Hollis began her college career in 2010 playing for the Kentucky softball team. Sarah shares her story and her thoughts on Title IX with us, speaking her own in today’s spotlight.

I’ve always been fascinated by the world of art – photography, filmmaking and graphic design – but didn’t know how to make a career out of it. With the help of my sister, who is majoring in journalism in the UK, and the wonderful people at CATS, I switched my major from Kinesiology to Integrated Strategic Communication with a degree. Art subject.

In May 2014, I graduated from Kentucky as an All-American, the softball team topped the world series for the first time in school history, and I was accepted into the Chicago Catalog School.

Over the next year, I took introductory classes on the power of storytelling, how to create a 360 brand campaign, and how to leave the program with a portfolio that would eventually land me the job. art director in the advertising industry.

In October 2015, I got my first job. From my first day at FCB Chicago to my last day in January 2021, I created a lot of jobs. I’ve worked on campaigns with some of the NFL’s most valuable players, like Doug Baldwin, Emmanuel Sanders, Stefon Diggs and Tyler Lockett. I’ve helped people feel more confident about flying, I’ve reimagined what it’s like to lose control and what it’s like to be a female aerospace engineer, and I’ve made products that bring humanity out. from this planet and into new ones.

During a global pandemic, I’ve partnered with the Chicago Public Library to create a daily storytime. Millions of children around the world have lost access to libraries and the books they love. ‘Live from The Library’ was created, and with the help of celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Common, John C. Riley, Jane Lynch and Obama, children can virtually read books. The famous reader I am most interested in is Jennie Finch. It’s hard to put into words how great it feels to have one of my softball role models join this campaign I’ve done!

Over five years, I have grown from a Junior Art Director to a Senior Art Director. I have had experience formulating big ideas for some of the world’s biggest brands and have won several advertising awards, including the Telly Bronze Award, D&AD Wood Pencil, One Show Gold Pencil and several certificates of merit from top advertising award programs. The work I created during those 5 years has earned FCB the title of “Top Innovator in North America” ​​in 2021.

Since October 2020, I have been living in Austria with my husband and animals, where I am currently a Liberal Arts Director working with various companies on local and international brands, such as: such as Red Bull and McDonald’s. I have also taken the time to pursue my other passions of photography and filmmaking by documenting our European adventures weekly on our blog, www.thepackmama.co.

The benefits I received through sport carried over to my professional career where I continued to build my self-esteem and focused on setting new goals while being disciplined to achieve them. they.

Although I was born 20 years after Title IX was passed and the idea of ​​not being able to play never crossed my mind growing up, I felt the impact of Title IX throughout my college career. From entering the softball team and graduating with a scholarship, to watching our field transform into one of the premier facilities in the country, this would not have been possible without passing Title IX. I played at the highest level and my team knocked the home team off the field because there were a lot of women before we knocked down the fence to do it.

Because of Title IX, I get to play for free.

Because of the University of Kentucky, I was able to play.