Tara Hill was born in Hazlehurst, Ga to the Reverend LaFayette Hill (dec) and Helen Hill. Being the fifth child of six she was very protected and highly loved by all. She’s the proud mother of two remarkable daughters and the grandmother of two precious granddaughters.
Tara’s primary education was at Hazlehurst High School during segregation. After desegregation, she entered and completed her secondary schooling in the Jeff Davis County school system. She received several accolades during her high school education such as being the first black-crowned on the Homecoming court and to this day she’s the first and only black to have held the position of class president. She graduated in the top three percent of her class. After high school, Tara entered Fort Valley State University to major in Political Science. She soon transferred to Savannah where she received an AS degree in Computer Science. She received her BS in Computer Information Systems from California State University Stanislaus and she completed her educational studies with a MS in Computer Information Systems Security from Strayer University. All degrees were achieved at the Magna Cum Laude distinction level. She joined the Navy in 1986 as an electronic technician. After completing two years of rigorous schooling, she joined the fleet in Okinawa JN at Kadena Air Base. During her three years of duty at Communication Station Okinawa, she received numerous honors and became known as, “The Award-Winning Tara Hill”! Her reputation of determination and attention to detail followed her to her next duty stations of Christchurch, NZ, and Whidbey Island, WA where she continued to grow and achieve as a United States sailor.
After leaving military service in 1996, she pursued her career as a scientist for Intel Corporation of Santa Clara. While in California she continued in service by helping to spearhead a homeless veteran center in Modesto, CA. The center provided shelter, meals, computer training, and job search resources to the homeless veteran community. The center also hosted annual stand-downs for outreach to all veterans. Tara ended her career with retirement from Veteran Affairs in Atlanta, GA. She is very active in community service in her birth town of Hazlehurst, Ga.
Annually she awards an educational grant in recognition of her father’s legacy, The LaFayette Hill Scholarship. She conducts biannual safety compliance drives by installing fire detection devices in homes of the elderly and low-income. She consistently outreaches to veterans in finding shelter and hot meals while helping them with their VA compensation claims. She was honored in 2019 as a “Living Legend” by the GREAT association due to her philanthropic endeavors throughout the town of Hazlehurst with the youth, elderly, and veterans. She currently resides in Pace, FL.
