CFNN Reporters Aiden Hale, Cameron Hall, and Junhui Dong

Mrs. Holden has quickly become one of the favorite teachers here at Cape Fear in her six years of teaching. Let’s take a look back at how Mrs. Holden became such a fantastic and well-loved teacher, and how she has earned the CFNN Teacher of the Week award.

She can easily be spotted in the halls of Cape Fear High School, sporting her trademark smile and endless positive energy. She is a favorite not only to students, but fellow teachers as well, so one has to ask: how did Mrs. Holden wind up in Colt Country?

Mrs. Holden grew up with military parents; she moved around throughout her childhood as most military children do, but she has lived in North Carolina for 18 years. Mrs. Holden attended the University of North Carolina at Pembroke where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in History. 

Mrs. Holden is a very creative person, which explains why she loves to do arts and crafts in her free time, specifically sewing and crocheting.

Mrs. Holden has been teaching for 9 years, previously teaching at Clinton High School, this is her 6th year at Cape Fear which she says “I hope I get to stay and teach here for a long time, it really is the best school!”. 

Mrs. Holden is one of our AP (Advanced Placement) teachers here at Cape Fear. Mrs. Holden teaches AP Human Geography in the Fall which is primarily a freshman class, known for being one of the best classes to introduce a student into the AP learning format. Mrs. Holden also teaches AP U.S. History during the spring, this is known to be one of the most difficult AP classes but Mrs. Holden is a perfect fit for this class as can be seen with her amazing test scores.

Along with AP U.S History, Mrs. Holden teaches AP Seminar which is a year-round combo class with AP U.S History although you can talk U.S History by itself. Seminar is required to go along with it, Seminar is part of the AP Capstone program and is very work-heavy but Mrs. Holden is great at breaking the work down and making it more digestible and approachable.

Mrs. Holden’s favorite thing about teaching is when students learn something they didn’t know they could do and seeing how proud they are of themselves. 

“Sometimes students underestimate themselves, so watching them grow academically and in their confidence is so rewarding!” stated Mrs. Holden.

What Students and Teachers Had To Say About Mrs. Holden:

“My favorite thing about Mrs. Holden is how nice and understanding she is, and she also has a really organized class that makes it easy to learn,” said current AP Seminar student Hannah Love. 

Hannah is currently on the AP Capstone pathway in which one needs to pass the AP exam in both AP Seminar and AP Research as well as pass the AP exam in four other AP classes of their choice. The AP Capstone is considered one of the highest honors one can graduate with from high school.

“My favorite thing about Mrs. Holden is her personality and the fact that she is just easy to get along with,” said Kayleigh Jacobs. 

Kayleigh is currently a senior and is a previous student of Mrs. Holden. Kayleigh is a member of the girls varsity soccer team. Kayleigh will be graduating this year with the AP Capstone student honors. Kayleigh plans on attending UNC Chapel Hill after graduation.

“My favorite thing about Mrs. Holden is her interactive teaching style, it really gets people engaged in her teachings,”  said Nick Serbio. 

Nick is a three sport student-athlete and a member of the Varsity Soccer, Men’s Swimming, and Baseball teams. Nick is also a former student of Mrs. Holden. He will also be graduating with the AP Capstone honor this year. Nick hopes to attend NC State’s engineering program after graduation.

“I like her personality and I like her lectures because they are very interesting and she goes in depth,” said Tyler Royer. 

Tyler is a sophomore in Mrs. Holden’s AP U.S. History first period class. This is Tyler’s first AP class and what better way to start off than with Mrs. Holden as the teacher.

“I love working with Mrs. Holden because of her dedication to excellence, she wants her students to achieve to the best of their ability. And she’s motivated and enthusiastic about utilizing whatever methods she can as a teacher to ensure that happens for them.” stated Mrs. Lucas, a long-time English teacher at Cape Fear when asked about her favorite part about working with Mrs. Holden. 

Mrs. Lucas also stated, “She’s great at relationship building and team-building, there’s a sense of camaraderie among all the students in her class and with Mrs. Holden herself and that leads to students’ success in many different aspects.” When asked about why she thinks students love being in Mrs. Holden’s class so much.

“Mrs. Holden is always willing to help out one of her colleges,” stated Mrs. Shook, a long time teacher at Cape Fear when asked about her favorite part about working with Mrs. Holden.

Mrs. Shook also stated, “She is very structured and kids like a class to be structured even though they don’t want to admit it,” when asked about why she thinks students love being in Mrs. Holden’s class so much.

Why Students Enjoyed Taking Mrs. Holden’s Classes:

“Yes, because she taught me how to be organized with my work and time management,” said Hannah Love. Hannah took Mrs. Holden’s AP Human Geography class last year and is currently enrolled in Mrs. Holden’s combined AP Seminar and AP U.S. History class.

“I do feel like I am a better student, because she never lets you get down on yourself and always pushes you to get smarter and do better,” said Kayleigh Jacobs, a former student of Mrs. Holden who has taken many of her classes.

 “Yes I do feel like I am a better student, ever since freshman year she has really helped me adapt to the high school learning style.” stated Nick Serbio, a former student of Mrs. Holden, who was enrolled in many of her classes including her AP Seminar class from the 2023-2024 school year. 

Looking back…

Mrs. Holden has influenced many students and staff throughout her years of teaching at Cape Fear. Teacher of the week cannot begin to fully express how hard she works to better the school and community. The methods Mrs. Holden uses to teach and help new students adapt to the work load of high school and adapt to the overall flow of it which could be overwhelming at first helps students throughout the rest of their life.

Whether it is through the bonds she forms in her classroom or with her engaging way of teaching Mrs. Holden has had an amazing impact on the environment of Cape Fear and the students and staff. Mrs. Holden is a perfect fit for Cape Fear’s teacher of the week and we know she will continue to inspire and impact the students and staff of Cape Fear for years to come.