Her Story
About Hillary
Hillary Chabot is a Senior Journalist at Babson College with more than two decades of experience in journalism, political reporting, higher education, and digital content creation. At Babson, she interviews students, faculty, alumni, and staff and develops accessible, engaging stories about the institution's research, people, entrepreneurship, and news. Her work combines strong reporting, interviewing, story development, and communications skills, with a particular focus on translating complex subjects into compelling stories for broad audiences.
Chabot began her journalism career in 2001 after earning a bachelor's degree in English and History from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Her early internships with organizations including the Boston Globe, The Atlantic Monthly, Houghton Mifflin, and the Improper Bostonian gave her the opportunity to explore different forms of writing and helped establish her interest in newspaper journalism. She subsequently worked for the Sentinel & Enterprise and The Lowell Sun before spending more than 12 years at the Boston Herald, where she served as a political reporter, columnist, and Boston Herald Radio host. During that period, she covered local, state, and national politics, presidential campaigns, national political conventions, and major political events.
Throughout her career, Chabot has reported on significant political and public-interest stories, including breaking the story concerning Elizabeth Warren's claims of Native American heritage during the 2012 Senate race, covering Barack Obama's first presidential inauguration, and embedding with Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. She has also covered communities during challenging circumstances, including the aftermath of the 2006 Mother's Day flood in Lowell and families affected by Hurricane Katrina. In addition to her professional journalism, she has taught English as a second language to children in Mexico. She brings to her work a strong commitment to curiosity, accountability, empathy, and giving people the opportunity to have their stories heard and accurately represented.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Hillary
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to genuinely enjoying the work. Journalism never felt like work to me because I was deeply interested in finding information, understanding what was happening, and identifying stories that could make a difference.
When I was covering state politics at the Boston Herald, I would often spend my weekends researching state spending records to determine whether taxpayer money was being used appropriately. I was motivated by the opportunity to uncover meaningful stories, hold institutions accountable, and provide information that could help people.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
One of the most valuable experiences in my career was having the opportunity to work in different environments and try different types of journalism. Early internships and positions allowed me to discover not only what I enjoyed, but also what was not the right fit for me.
I learned that it is important to explore different workplaces and roles early in your career. My experience reading manuscripts at Houghton Mifflin, for example, helped me realize that publishing was not the direction I wanted to pursue. Those experiences ultimately helped me become more confident about choosing journalism and newspaper reporting.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would encourage young women entering journalism to become specific about the type of reporting they want to pursue as early as possible. Journalism is a demanding field, so having a clear sense of the subjects and stories that interest you can help you build a meaningful career.
I would also encourage aspiring journalists to reach out to as many people as possible in their area of interest and actively build professional relationships. Networking can open doors that may not otherwise be visible, and my own career has been shaped by people who recognized my work and connected me with new opportunities.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges facing journalism is the decline of traditional newspapers. Newspapers were where I developed much of my passion for reporting, and the contraction of that industry has made opportunities more difficult to find for journalists who want to do this work.
At the same time, I see meaningful opportunities through networking and professional relationships. Some of the most important transitions in my own career came through people who appreciated my work and introduced me to others, including my move from a smaller newspaper to the Boston Herald and eventually to Babson College. Building relationships and demonstrating the quality of your work can create opportunities even as the industry continues to change.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Empathy is one of the values I consider most important in my work. I am particularly proud that people I have interviewed have told me they feel comfortable sharing anything with me. I believe that being empathetic allows a journalist to listen more carefully and understand the person behind the story.
Throughout my career, I have had opportunities to interview people during extremely difficult circumstances, including families affected by Hurricane Katrina. In those moments, I valued being able to give people the space to tell their stories and to represent their experiences accurately and respectfully. For me, journalism is not simply about gathering information; it is also about listening to people and helping their experiences be understood.
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