hill attended the university of north carolina at chapel hill where she studied to be pharmacist. while at unc-ch, she met a production crew filming an episode of an accident reconstruction show in chapel hill. she soon become interested in film, making her first film for a class project about diabetes. bill campbell, the dean of unc's pharmacy school, encouraged her to attend a pharmacy administration graduate program at auburn university, which had access to video equipment. she attended auburn for 18 months but did not finish her degree.