Meet Our Latest Alumna Spotlight: Holly Enowski

With quite the impressive list of community work and passion projects, Holly Enowski has been busy since graduating from Mizzou last spring! We admire her passion for service and leadership in her post-graduation work and are excited to continue to watch as she leads future endeavors with grace! Learn more about Holly's post-graduation work as well as advice and favorite memories from her time at Mizzou and as a Theta below.

Name: Holly Enowski

Theta pledge class: MC '16

When did you graduate from Mizzou? May 2020

Major/Degree: Science and Agricultural Journalism (Strategic Communication), minors in Agricultural Economics, Business, and International Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources

Hometown: Eldon, Missouri

Where do you live now? I’m in Warrensburg, Missouri working remotely and traveling quite a bit across the state for work/school/Miss Missouri.

Where do you work right now/what have you been up to since graduation? I work for the Deaton Institute for University Leadership in International Development as the Director of Strategic Partnerships. As a freshman at Mizzou, I co-founded the Deaton Scholars Program, which has since had nearly 600 program graduates. I am working to expand the model to other universities worldwide and to enhance university involvement in global challenges.

I also work as the Brand Curator and Storyteller for The Letter Project, a 501c3 nonprofit that empowers young women and girls through handwritten letters of encouragement and support. On the side, I started my own nonprofit, Hungry For Change Collective, and do communications work for small businesses and organizations! I’m also a MBA candidate at Washington University in St. Louis and a candidate for Miss Missouri.

This summer, I’ll be interning for the Kauffman Foundation, focused on addressing systemic challenges for entrepreneurs in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa.

What is your favorite thing about Miss Missouri? My favorite thing about participating in the Miss America Organization is earning scholarships for graduate school, being able to perform my talent, and being an advocate for the people of Missouri. Whether that is supporting local and small business, celebrating Missouri agriculture, or advancing food security, being an advocate for Missourians makes me really fulfilled.

What's your favorite thing about the city you live in? That I can have my own kitten! I lived in Theta 3 of my 4 years of college and am a big animal (specifically cat) lover, so my favorite thing about living in a new city is living on my own...which lets me have a cat, Goose.

What are you passionate about? Ending world hunger. It is disgusting that people, at home and abroad, continue to go to bed hungry and it’s simply a devaluing of human potential that frustrates me. With the COVID-19 pandemic, as many as 1 in 3 children are hungry and many families are hungry for the first time in their life. Interning in Kenya and my work with No Kid Hungry, the Deaton Institute, and the World Food Prize Foundation really solidified this as a lifelong challenge and commitment for me. I work to mobilize each generation to do their part to end hunger - it’s time we each be hungry for change.

What do you do in your free time? I compete in the Miss America Organization, host a podcast, and speak about food insecurity to different audiences nationwide! In my *actual* free time, I like kayaking, cooking, and playing marimba. My boyfriend Joey and I like playing disc golf and exploring new cities (and more importantly, foods!) together.

What are some of your other future career/life goals? Good question -- something I ask myself every day! I have a lot of interests and passion projects and can overwhelm myself thinking about the next 5, 10, 15 years. Future career is very TBD...some days I think I would enjoy being a lawyer and other days I really want to start my own business. In the near future, my goals are to compete at Miss America and to dive deeper into my podcast LOCALE and my blog. Future career? Expanding my Hungry for Change Collective into an official 501c3 nonprofit and consulting major food and agriculture organizations on millennial engagement, strategy, and higher education initiatives. I also see myself running for public office in the next 10-20 years!

What do you miss most about Mizzou? I miss my member class and the senior year experiences! Our year got cut short and I think the worst part of that was not being able to celebrate together and say formal goodbyes. I miss being in the same city and living with other Holly (Holly Harlan) and Cierra.

What do you miss most about Theta? My pledge family! Literally some of my favorite people. I also miss mentoring women in younger pledge classes - living in-house really allowed me to build friendships with them. (also Chef Chris’ Chinese night. Hands down.)

Ok also as a side note: taking your leadership positions seriously serves you well in future jobs/internships/opportunities. I recently ran a virtual conference with 500 attendees and I was confident that I could execute it well because of my year as the Events Director for Theta. I miss being in spaces where you can learn and grow like that!

What is one thing you took away from being a part of Theta in college that has shaped you into the woman you are today? Being surrounded by people that are just as ambitious, motivated, and engaged as you are on things that matter is an incredible thing, and that intentionality in surrounding myself with the right people and the right energy, especially post-graduation and with the pandemic, has been so critical to my well-being. If I could only take one thing away from my time as an active Theta, it is the importance of selecting who you surround yourself with -- you really do become the 5 people you spend the most time with.

Do you have a specific favorite Theta memory? Winning homecoming with Alpha Gamma Rho my junior year. Nothing compares.

Anything else you'd like to add? College is quite literally the best place to make mistakes, to fail, and to explore new things. My academic advisor would be frustrated with me from time to time because I would add an extra class last minute, take 23 credit hours in a semester, study abroad twice...but it was in those experiences that I gained the most. If I could go back, I would’ve pushed the envelope even more -- do more research, take the weird class, take honors classes (seriously!), and challenge yourself academically. The 4.0 is not worth playing it safe.

& I’m a triplet and was born at 2 pounds, 11 ounces! Support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals :)