Holly Fling, lecturer and academic coach in the Office for Student Success and Achievement, has both a commercial driver’s license and a doctorate, indicative of two very different lives that she has led.
Growing up in rural Missouri, Fling worked on the family farm, helping to manage the livestock and crops.
At age 16, she started working in the restaurant industry to earn money. When she graduated high school, she signed up for college classes, but on the first day she never showed up. “I just wasn’t ready,” she said. She thought her time could be better spent working full time and earning money.
Fling spent the next decade working, getting married and having a son. She was promoted to assistant manager at Pizza Hut and needed a commercial driver’s license to be able to drive the food trailer.
At age 32, she went to her local community college to sign up for one class. She walked out with a 13-credit-hour schedule. A single mother, working full time, she was now suddenly a full-time student as well.
When she walked into the classroom that first day, she realized it had been more than 10 years since she had been in school. She didn’t know how to take notes, didn’t know how to study and struggled to stay focused in class. In fact, she ended up copying her business textbook nearly word for word because she didn’t know what mattered.
Fling worked hard to stay focused and improve her study skills. The harder she worked, the more things started to make sense. Her British literature professor asked her to become a peer teacher to half of the students in the class.
“And then the other half of the class starts emailing me and asking me if I can send them my notes because I was making it make sense for these other people,” she said. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, maybe I’m good at this.’”
That was the first time she considered that she might want to become a teacher.
Fling then went on to complete her bachelor’s degree and eventually a doctorate in English at UGA.
She then worked as an assistant professor of English at Georgia Military College in Milledgeville and, after a couple of years, was promoted to interim academic dean. Away from the classroom, though, she realized she missed interacting with students daily and teaching. That led her back to UGA in 2023, where she started teaching academic success courses in UGA’s Office for Student Success and Achievement.
In addition to teaching, Fling also serves as an academic coach. Academic coaches meet one-on-one with students to help them improve their academic skills, build confidence and work toward achieving their goals. For Fling, academic coaching has been the most rewarding part of her job. She believes her past struggles are what make her an effective teacher and academic coach today.
“I see myself in all of them,” she said.
During her coaching appointments, she meets with students who have some of the same challenges she faced. In her classes and one-on-one time with students, she teaches them the same lessons she learned the hard way — effective study strategies, time management and note-taking skills.
She often shares her journey with her students. “I think that’s something that I really bring to my teaching now is that lesson that I learned that it’s never too late to change your trajectory,” she said.
Part of academic coaching is reminding students that they deserve support. “I remind students that they are humans who are doing hard things,” she said. “It was always difficult for me to give myself grace, so I really try to make sure and tell them it’s okay to give themselves grace. They deserve that.”
Now, Fling trains academic coaches at UGA to become affiliate academic coaches, amplifying her reach to impact even more students.
For Fling, it always comes back to the student sitting across from her — the one who reminds her of herself. She knows exactly what they need to hear. And she’s more than happy to help each and every one of them.