Making A Difference: Samantha Hollinshead
Samantha Hollinshead was one of the first ASU students to join The Difference Engine team. She is currently studying at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. We caught up with Samantha a few months ago when TDE gave a presentation for the Future Fifty program, and she agreed to talk to us about what she's been up to lately. The following interview was recorded on Monday April 10, 2023 and has been edited for brevity.
Aubrey Hicks: Thank you for joining me today. My first question is, what have you been up to since leaving the Difference Engine?
Samantha Hollinshead: I started law school at ASU Law in the fall, and I'm now in my second semester, few weeks away from finals.
Aubrey Hicks: What brings you to law?
Samantha Hollinshead: I have always been very interested in humanitarian work, so that's the reason why I originally went into sustainability for undergrad, and then realized I was missing the human aspect. It was very science-focused, which I did appreciate. I also wanted the other part of it. So I decided to add the second major of justice studies to be able to get that intersection. And I realized, because I did apply to a few different graduate programs before I did law school, and I just came to the conclusion that that just wasn't really what I actually wanted to do. I really wanted to work in human rights law, because I felt like getting a JD would really give me the opportunities and experiences to be able to understand the law, understand how governments worked and interact with each other, policy. It would give me a broad understanding of all these different issues and intersections. So I decided to go to law school - I felt like it'd give me a really unique background and experience to be able to pursue all these different areas.
Aubrey Hicks: Yeah, that's a good point. So, what is something that you've learned since you've been in law school?
Samantha Hollinshead: I think it's been, not so much time management, but balance. Law school can be all-consuming, and I didn't necessarily think that would be healthy for me. So trying to find that balance of still being able to go out with my friends and do stuff on the weekends, while also making sure I'm getting all my reading done and getting all my classwork done and doing my outlines and doing all that kind of stuff. Because I think I spent too much time in undergrad just focused on the school aspect and academics. Part of that was just being in the middle of COVID, and that's basically all you really could do. I wanted my law school experience to be different. So I think that's one thing that I've really learned over this year.
Aubrey Hicks: It's a hard lesson to learn. You have to learn it and relearn it over and over again.
Samantha Hollinshead: Well, I think especially in law school, it's very competitive in that nature. And so sometimes it can be hard to find that balance because of it, but something I'm striving for.
Aubrey Hicks: Okay, let's go back in time. What originally brought you to the Difference Engine?
Samantha Hollinshead: I took Ehsan's class, Unequal States of America, the first time that he taught it at ASU in the fall. I was in Barrett at the time and I needed honors credit. So I asked him if I could do something with the Difference Engine for the Women's Power Index to fulfill that honors requirement. And he let me. I got to start sitting on the team meetings and everything like that. I started working on a State of the Index Report. And then when it came time to end the semester, I asked if I could continue working for the Difference Engine, because I just really loved the Women's Power Index, the idea of it, just being able to measure equity in such a unique way.
Aubrey Hicks: What's something that you learned through the Difference Engine that you still use?
Samantha Hollinshead: I learned a lot from the Difference Engine, and a lot of different skills that I use on a regular basis. Being able to take such a big concept of women's equity in the workplace. It's so broad. And being able to really narrowly define it, and find metrics, and find measurements on ways to really conceptualize what that looks like. So being able to go between the macro and micro level, I think is one of the biggest things I took away from working at the Engine. And has really continued to help me, because especially in law school, I feel like something that really I had to learn first semester that I didn't realize is no one's going to actually tell you the law is. They're just building a framework. And so I was getting really stuck in the weeds of actual cases and case law. At the end of the semester I kind of realized I needed to zoom out a lot more than I was. And so I think I, between the Difference Engine and my first semester, really learned the importance of that.
Aubrey Hicks: What would be your advice to students who are interested in working with the Difference Engine?
Samantha Hollinshead: My advice would be, "Just go all in on it." Because I know when I started, I just kind of got consumed by it a little bit. I absolutely just love the project, the idea ... everything about it. So I just remembered getting so into the weeds of what equity in the workplace even means, and reading articles and looking at what does EEOC data even look like? What do companies, what are they doing generally? I would just say, "Just let yourself get consumed by it, because it's such an amazing topic and area. And I think it's applicable everywhere.”
Aubrey Hicks: What is one thing right now in law school that you wish you had time for?
Samantha Hollinshead: I wish I had more time to just casually read, because I do love to read so much. It's just by the end of the night if I look at one more piece of text, I just can't do it. So I really miss just being able to read for fun. I always take opportunities during spring break, on vacation, to make sure I bring a book with me so I have the opportunity to do that. Because that's something I definitely do miss, because in undergrad a lot of times I'd read a chapter before I went to bed or something. And so I miss being able to just read whatever I wanted.
Aubrey Hicks: Have you tried audiobooks?
Samantha Hollinshead: I've not. I sometimes will listen to podcasts while I'm cooking or getting ready or whatever, but I feel like there's just so much constantly going on in my mind in the background. I'll listen for five minutes. I'll be like, "Wait, I did not hear a single thing they just said to me." Or sometimes around finals, I'll listen to law podcasts. They'll do stuff like torts. They'll break down a section of torts which can be helpful, but it can also be just too much information at once.
Aubrey Hicks: What are your plans for the summer and the next couple years?
Samantha Hollinshead: Yeah, so this summer I'm working for Professor Hodge at the Center for Public Health Law and Policy. I'll be doing legal work there, really diving in, I think, this summer to some of the SCOTUS opinions that are hopefully going to come out this summer and how that's going to impact. And we're probably going to be talking about the COVID emergency order ending and everything like that. So I think it's going to be a very interesting summer looking at post-COVID, post-Dobbs Supreme Court decisions coming out. It's going to be an interesting summer. And then really diving into international law starting in the fall. I'm taking a Thunderbird class, which I'm really excited about, called International Organizations. I'm just trying to almost build my knowledge base in different areas of human rights law, so getting experience with the Difference Engine, doing women's issues and women's equity. My background, sustainability, background in health policy. So I'm just trying to build these different areas to give me a really good solid foundation. And then my plan is between summer of 2 and 3 year to do an international opportunity for the summer, and then hopefully the Italy program and the DC program for my 3L year. Hopefully I'll leave Arizona in May and not come back till graduation.
Aubrey Hicks: Wow. One of the things that I really appreciate about what you're telling me is, in part... For me so much of the problem is that people have a very specialized sense of knowledge. And you are looking to broaden that, and it helps you see the connections that you might not have seen otherwise. When you think about climate change, sustainability, so connected to human rights, it's so connected to.
Samantha Hollinshead: Right.
Aubrey Hicks: And health policy is connected to sustainability.
Samantha Hollinshead: Well, women's issues too, because women are disproportionately impacted by climate change. And healthcare too.
Aubrey Hicks: The recent healthcare laws are definitely really impacting women.
Samantha Hollinshead: Yeah.
Aubrey Hicks: There's been a lot law-related in the news this week, the Texas FDA, Washington FDA, and then ethics and violations. But the Supreme Court itself, it's huge.
So I guess my last question would be... So I'm going to let you choose.
Samantha Hollinshead: Okay.
Aubrey Hicks: So either, what is one thing that you would like people to know about you, or what is one thing you wish people would learn more about?
Samantha Hollinshead: Those are hard questions. I guess I would say I wish people would take opportunities to become better informed about issues and understand the role government and the law plays in addressing those issues. There is an important intersection between law, government, and community development. It is difficult to see the big picture without understanding all three aspects.
Aubrey Hicks: It's been fantastic catching up with you, thank you!