Celebrating CXR Foundation’s INSPIRE Scholarship Winner: Hillary Davis

Announcer: Welcome to the Recruiting Community Podcast, the go-to channel for talent acquisition leaders and practitioners. This show is brought to you by CXR, a trusted community of thousands connecting the best minds in the industry to explore topics like attracting, engaging, and retaining top talent. Hosted by Chris Hoyt and Jerry Crispin.

We are thrilled to have you join the conversation.

Chris Hoyt: Man, I love doing this one. This is one of the podcasts we do once a year—for good reason. Well, we do two of them, but it’s once a year. This is super exciting. This comes out of our CXR Foundation efforts. This is a nonprofit that we founded—gosh, Barb, how many years ago did we start this?

Barb Ruess: It’s actually been six, but I think we’ve officially been a foundation, a 501(c)(3) taking donations, for five.

Chris Hoyt: This is really, really exciting. I want to jump in—got a bunch of folks on today, more than we normally have. It’s a bit of a celebration. I think this is one of the reasons why we did the nonprofit to begin with: to help folks doing cool stuff. I just want to lift it up.

So, if you haven’t checked out the CXR Foundation—believe it or not, that’s the URL—it’s just www.cxrfoundation.org. You can see a little more about what we’re about. You can donate—because you know you want to donate.

We’ve done local community drive work, in addition to scholarships like this. We’ve got some exciting stuff going on in DC now—it just keeps growing. We’ve got a really impressive board. Jerry Crispin, who’s the co-founder of CareerXroads, is also the vice president on the board. And Barb, of course, you serve as secretary—but honestly, you do a lot of the heavy lifting as the committee lead for scholarships.

We’ve got two scholarships. This is the Inspire Scholarship we’re talking about today. I’m gonna take a deep breath now because you’ve done the work. I think you and Don should really talk to Hillary—our winner. So let me just back up. Take it away.

Barb Ruess: Okay, I’ll be happy to take it away. Don and I are here on behalf of our hardworking committee members who interview and review every single applicant for the Inspire Scholarship.

Just a quick plug—it usually opens around Thanksgiving every year. So if you’re a graduating high school senior, already in college, or even a practitioner looking for an advanced degree, keep an eye out.

Shameless plug—please feel free to donate! The more you donate, the more scholarship dollars we have to award to wonderful people like Hillary.

One of the things I’m most excited about with this scholarship is that every single applicant is connected to the talent acquisition industry. They either have a family member who works in TA, or they themselves are pursuing it. That’s really what this foundation is all about—supporting our industry in meaningful ways.

So Don’s gonna jump in here, but first, I want to hand the mic to our winner—our 2025 Inspire Scholarship recipient—Hillary Davis! Hillary, I’d love it if you could tell us a little bit about yourself and your connection to TA.

Hillary Davis: Hi everybody! My name is Hillary. I’ll be majoring in Lit, Media, and Writing, and I’ll be attending Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

I got into TA through my aunt, who works in the corporate side of it—hiring and managing that process. On Take Your Kid to Work Day—well, I’m not technically a kid anymore—but she would still bring me along. I’d go with her, see what she did, and realized what an important job it is. It really builds a company, and I found it super interesting the more time I spent with her.

Barb Ruess: That’s wonderful. I just spoke to another TA practitioner this week who had her kids sitting right next to her on Take Your Kid to Work Day. Keep those programs going—we’re building the next generation of TA pros!

Don Carter, I’m so happy you could join us today. You’re one of the founding members of this committee. I’ve had the pleasure of working with you for years reviewing all these amazing scholarship applications. What questions do you have for Hillary?

Don Carter: First off, I want to ask about the nonprofit you started. I was so impressed by what you’ve built and the impact it has on the community. Can you tell us more about it?

Hillary Davis: My nonprofit is called Harriet’s Closet. It’s a community closet where we accept donations of gently used clothing from people in the area, especially college students. I sort through everything—see what can be given out, what needs to be tossed, what people would actually want to wear.

If I’d wear it, I’ll put it out, because everyone deserves good things, even if they’re secondhand.

We do this through my church—once a month, first Saturday of every month, no misses. People from the community can come in and shop. We also serve breakfast.

It’s named after a member of my church who passed away. She was really into fashion, so I wanted to honor her and give back to the community. I knew this is something she would’ve loved.

Don Carter: I love that it’s named after someone special. That connection makes it even more meaningful.

When you went through this application process, what advice would you give to someone out there who might be listening and thinking about applying?

Hillary Davis: I’d say apply to scholarships that align with what you want to do. Financial need-based ones are great, but they’re not always guaranteed—especially if you don’t meet certain income criteria.

I live a good life, but college is still super expensive. So I look for scholarships that are more interest- or major-specific. Whether it’s community service or a field you’re passionate about, broaden your search—it gives you a better chance.

Don Carter: Great advice. Barb, back to you.

Barb Ruess: Hillary, I’m so glad you mentioned that. One of the conscious decisions we made starting last year was to reduce the weight of financial need in our selection process. It’s definitely still considered, but we realized exactly what you said—there are many students who don’t qualify for aid but still struggle with the cost of college.

We want to be able to support those students too.

Now, tell me a little more before we let you go. Your nonprofit is amazing, but it’s not the only thing you’re involved in. Can you share more about what else you’re passionate about?

Hillary Davis: I really loved playing volleyball. I played from 7th grade through my junior year of high school. It was one of the best experiences—I made some of my best friends through it.

I also do a lot of community service. I volunteer with the Kindness Campaign, which provides fresh groceries to communities that don’t have easy access to fresh markets. They get donations from bigger corporations, and we give out veggies and healthy food. I try to volunteer twice a month.

Giving back feels good—it’s rewarding to know you’re making a difference. That’s why I keep doing it. Outside of that, I love to read and hang out with my friends.

Barb Ruess: That’s great. Balance is so important. And you’re a testament to the impact young people can have on the world. I hope you keep that spirit as you head to college.

One last question: What are you most looking forward to in college?

Hillary Davis: Meeting new people and making connections. I’m excited to put myself out there, see different backgrounds, learn how others go about life. I think it’s important to be teachable—and meeting people from different walks of life really opens you up to that.

Barb Ruess: I love that. You definitely sound like someone who could thrive in talent acquisition—people people, as I like to say.

Chris Hoyt: I was going to ask you that same question, Hillary. I’m glad Barb threw it out there. I have to say, you really are one of the most inspirational applicants we’ve had. Your application and essay really stood out. It’s never an easy decision, but the amount of giveback you do, how “peopley” you are—it’s just amazing.

You’re doing a lot more for the greater good than you might even realize. Way more than I did in college. Definitely more than Jerry, for sure!

I’m just really glad you applied. I’m thrilled we could award you this scholarship.

Hillary Davis: Thank you. I really appreciate that.

Chris Hoyt: Can we make a commitment now to have you back on the show in a year or two? Just to check in, see how things are going? Maybe you’ve taken a new direction—who knows, maybe you’re the next TA leader at EY!

Hillary Davis: Yes, definitely! We’ll have to run it back and see where I’m at.

Barb Ruess: I love it. Hillary, congratulations again. On behalf of everyone at the Foundation, we are so proud to have you as this year’s scholarship winner. Keep doing all the amazing work you’re doing.

Chris Hoyt: Good stuff, everybody. If you want to learn more, check out cxr.org/podcast. You’ll find episodes like this and more from recruiting leaders around the world.

If you have questions or want to connect with us, that’s the place to do it. Until next time—take care, everybody!

Announcer: Thanks for listening to the Recruiting Community Podcast, where talent acquisition leaders connect, learn, and grow together. Be sure to visit cxr.works/podcast to explore past episodes, see what’s coming up next, and find out how you can join the conversation.

Whether you’ve got insights to share or want to be a guest on the show, we’d love to hear from you. If you’re interested in learning more about becoming a member of the CXR community, visit us at www.cxr.works. We’ll catch you in the next episode.