Editor's note: Academy of the Holy Names junior Tress Jacobs spent the summer of 2018 shadowing Tampa Bay Times columnist Ernest Hooper. To conclude the experience, she interviewed Academy alumnus Kim Wilmath Hill and filed this report.
By Tress Jacobs
Times Correspondent
TAMPA - Courageous, brilliant, an Academy of the Holy Names graduate, and an expectant mother.
It all describes Kim Wilmath Hill. At 31, she possesses admirable experience in a plethora of communications fields, from journalist to public relations, to working for the state university system Board of Governors and a cybersecurity firm to now serving as the assistant vice president of communications at the University of South Florida.
All of her jobs have required a vast skill set that few possess. The resume reflects the fact Hill is not afraid to take risks and try new things, but she was not always like this.
"I was shy and probably lacked the confidence, I think, that you need to really succeed in what you want to do," Hill said.
Hill, who attended Academy on scholarship, credited the school multiple times for her forward attitude and her development into the confident woman she is today.
"I tried to squeeze as much out of the experience that I could," Hill said.
While Hill holds fond memories of the school, the staff and teachers remember her as a natural leader.
"Kim was known for being a leader in her class," said Kerry Keegan, Academy's longtime college counselor. "I vividly remember her being the student that her classmates chose to give the senior farewell speech."
Hill always had a feeling that her career path would have something to do with writing but her passion for journalism began at Academy in her former English teacher's journalism class.
"I signed up for an elective one semester, which was journalism. I had no idea what it was, no idea ... luckily I loved it," Hill said. "I got really into the page designs, so I'd come to school early and I'd go on the computer and design out the pages and the layout and everything.
"And that was great because that really is what lead me to doing journalism in college."
It was in that class that Hill decided to continue her exploration of journalism at the University of Florida.
She progressed at the Alligator, the independent student paper that serves UF, going from designer to writer and earning internships at the Levy County Journal, High Springs Herald, Valley News (Vermont) and the Tampa Bay Times.
At the Times, she parlayed the internship into a full-time job where she wrote powerful stories that brought tears to readers' eyes. She worked to be an unbiased voice that presented current events to the public, often covering crime stories.
Hill revealed that journalism is a service job in which you serve the people by telling the stories that others can not tell themselves.
Her sense of service, instilled at Academy, continues to be a guide. Last year, she funded a small scholarship for students attending the school.
"She's always been involved in the community and she kept up with us," Keegan said. "I have nothing but good things to say about her. I love her to death."
The interview taught me so much about journalism and even a little bit about life. I'm proud to say that this accomplished woman is a former student of Academy of the Holy Names, and I know she will continue to set an amazing example for the girls at Academy.
And her baby.
Contact Tress Jacobs at hillsnews@tampabay.com.