Some of Holland’s favorite memories of Connie Maxwell have taken place during the summertime. She recalls trips to the beach, going to the movies, and listening to music while she played volleyball at the swimming pool with her friends. She laughs as she remembers her cottage’s karaoke car rides, when the windows were down and they kept singing as they pulled up beside other cars at a stop light.
These were some of the happy times she experienced just being a child during the six years she lived at the Greenwood campus. Holland has found a sense of belonging, developed friendships, and has experienced healing through Connie Maxwell Children’s Ministries. Now, as a recent high school graduate, she’s reflecting on how this season of her life has affected her and her future.
“Even though you may not have a family that you can go home to, you still have a family here. There are people who actually care about you, who will talk with you, and help you with whatever you need,” Holland says, adding that “kids always need that support and help, even if they aren’t asking for it.”
Relationships are important to Holland, especially the one she has with her younger brother. The siblings were adopted from an orphanage in the Philippines when Holland was 11 years old, and then spent periods of time living with a second adoptive family and in group homes before coming to Connie Maxwell. She says this move was especially hard because she initially came without her brother, but the pair eventually reunited about two years ago when both chose to live at Connie Maxwell.
Holland (top left) at the orphanage in the Philippines.
“Connie Maxwell has been supportive of my decision to try and reconnect with my family, but things didn’t work out. It has been hard, but I have learned and grown over the years here. I know what a family is and what I want in a family in the future, and that helps,” she says.
Holland credits Connie Maxwell with helping her realize her own potential and with challenging her to pursue big dreams for her future. She’s a great student, too, and had the privilege of delivering the baccalaureate speech to her graduating class in May of this year. It wasn’t until she started writing her thoughts that Holland fully realized the weight of this opportunity.
“At first I didn’t know what to tell the several hundred people who would be listening to this speech, because half of them didn’t know me or my story,” she recalls. “I wanted them to hear my heart and to know they aren’t alone. It’s important to help others and share our stories, and I wanted the message to be about more than just graduating. It’s not about the trauma you go through but about the way you accomplish things, push past the trauma, and then do something about it.”
During the graduation ceremony Connie Maxwell further recognized Holland’s accomplishments by naming her as the 2025 Jamison Award recipient, noting her outstanding character and leadership qualities. Dr. A.T. Jamison was Connie Maxwell’s second and longest-serving superintendent from 1900 to 1946 and was an early advocate for addressing the total needs of a child. The annual award is given to graduating seniors who exemplify Jamison’s character and leadership profiles.
The recognition was such a surprise that Holland admits thinking during the presentation that “someone else is going to get this, because everyone is so outstanding here and everyone is a good student.” With the reality of the honor setting in, the Jamison Award now serves as a valuable reminder to Holland that “people are watching you all the time and watching how you act. There are a lot of people at Connie Maxwell who are looking at you and looking up to you, especially the younger kids. This award showed me that I can be a leader and show others that hey, you can do this! You can achieve things, too. It means a lot to know people are proud of you.”
President Danny Nicholson presented Holland with the Jamison Award.
Holland appreciates how she has grown and developed while at Connie Maxwell, including in her relationship with God. Not too long ago talking about God was a sore subject because she struggled to reconcile who He is with what she experienced throughout her childhood. Now Holland enjoys serving and being a part of Connie Maxwell Baptist Church, and will always remember playing Mary in the Christmas nativity scene for the last two years.
“I’ve had ups and downs trusting God and believing He’s there for me. In the Philippines I had a dream to have a family that loved and cared for me, and now I see how God answered my prayer,” Holland says of her faith journey today. “The more I realized how God put the puzzle pieces of my life together I think, ‘Wow, you’re really cool!’ I didn’t see that working out, but You did. It’s amazing.”
As her time at Connie Maxwell winds down, Holland will remember it as “one of the happiest places I’ve been. I will always remember my calming walks around campus. I have loved that time to relax and have quiet moments. I will also remember the bells at church. I love that they ring with different music and that you can hear it all around.”
This fall Holland will start working toward her dream job of becoming a child therapist. She will begin a five-year program to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling at Columbia International University. She’s open to how she might use her degrees, but knows it will involve helping children.
“I want to help children who have been through hard things, like I have, to work through their trauma and move on from it so that they can reach their dreams the way Connie Maxwell has helped me reach for mine,” she says before adding, “I also want to visit the Philippines again because there are many orphans there, just like me.”
