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August 2023 Alumni Spotlight


Jeffery O'Holleran

SHS Class of 2003


Jeff O'Holleran grew up in Scottsbluff where he attended Longfellow and Lake Minatare Elementary Schools before going to Scottsbluff High School. He excelled academically, becoming one of the valedictorians of his graduating class in 2003. He served as President of National Honor Society and Junior Class President and was the 2003 Social Studies Student of the Year. Jeff participated in Speech and Debate Club, Mock Trial and the Multicultural Club during his time at SHS. But Jeff’s proudest achievements were in the Scottsbluff High School music program under Kathy Simpson and Barb Becker, where he was a member of the Choralaires show choir and had several roles in musicals, including a performance his senior year as the lead character in The Music Man, Harold Hill. As a summer job during high school, Jeff worked for the school alongside his friend and mentor Scott Harvey (Class of ’02) running lights and sound for the auditorium. After graduation, Jeff attended the University of Colorado at Boulder (Class of ’07) where he was active in campus politics, serving as the President of College Republicans in 2006. In 2010, Jeff graduated with his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Colorado School of Law, having the distinctions of being Production Editor for Journal on Telecom and High Technology Law, Treasurer for the Federalist Society and recipient of the Public Interest Service Award. His 2010 law journal publication Blood Code: The History and Future of Video Game Censorship was well received, being cited as an authority in a brief for the U.S. Supreme Court case Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association and has since been used as an assigned text in several computer science and game development classes across the country. After graduating law school and passing the bar exam that same year, Jeff worked as a trial attorney for the Colorado Public Defender’s Denver office, handling upwards of 2,000 cases as a defense attorney during his tenure there. In 2015 he started work as a securities auditor and business regulator for the Wyoming Secretary of State in Cheyenne while also taking an adjunct position that same year in CU-Boulder’s Film Department to teach classes on cinema and the legal system. Currently, Jeff lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming with his wife Zarah and their three sons. He has been an Assistant District Attorney for Wyoming’s First Judicial District since 2019. Having previously worked as the office’s HIDTA attorney, Jeff now handles the District’s child abuse/neglect and delinquency caseloads. Jeff says of his job, "My main goal in the cases I carry now is to try to facilitate giving children stable homes and educational opportunities. It's hard for me to imagine a more worthwhile use of my career. I'm really proud of what I do and the children I've helped." Music is still a major part of Jeff’s life. He is an avid guitar player and produces music in his free time. Looking back at his time at SHS, Jeff says, “I’m really grateful for my time going to school in Scottsbluff. In particular, I have my social studies teachers at SHS to thank for providing an amazing foundation and knowledge base that I used to go on to law school and have a successful career in government. Also, I would not be the person I am today without the opportunities I had in the music program. I honestly think even more than what I took out of college or graduate school, for me, the SHS music program helped me develop the most invaluable practice and study habits and work ethic that I still utilize in my life. Plus it was the most fun I ever had in school.”

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