Holland Alum: Lexine Walker
Influence of Holland Scholars
Holland Alum: Jason Bradfield
Holland Scholar Alumni build on their achievements and experiences at the University to become leaders and accomplished professionals. Among their numbers are talented artists, scientists, attorneys, physicians, professors, financial analysts, engineers, poets, actors, and educators who serve their communities, their nation, and the world. Holland Scholars also have pursued advanced degrees at Virginia, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, the University of Chicago, MIT, and the University of Michigan, earning fellowships and awards of distinction.
Holland Alum: Kimberly Bonner, right
Kimberly M. Bonner
Kimberly M. Bonner is emblematic of the caliber of Holland Alumni. As a high school senior in South Florida, Ms. Bonner set her sights on Yale. Then she got a letter from the University of Virginia, saying she was a candidate for a Holland Scholarship. "I was looking at thousands of dollars in loans had I gone to Yale," she says. "My parents were educators. We were not what you would call poor, but middle class. However, financing my education was not a simple or easy endeavor."
Instead of enrolling at Yale, she became one of six Holland Scholars in the Class of 1993. Ms. Bonner majored in foreign affairs; studied at the American University in Cairo, Egypt; joined the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society; wrote editorials for the Cavalier Daily; earned a J. D. degree from UVa's Law School; and served on the Virginia Journal of International Law. Now Director of the Center for Intellectual Property in the Digital Environment at the University of Maryland University College in Adelphi, Maryland, Ms. Bonner is one of the many Holland Alumni who help shape their communities and their professions.
Terry Gray
As soon as Holland Scholar Terry Gray (College '95) arrived at the University, he seemed destined to lead. He founded an interracial discussion group, joined the Black Student Alliance, and pledged the Alpha Phi Alpha service fraternity. He volunteered as a parliamentarian, then was elected to Student Council. Then Gray received yet another award - the Gray Carrington Scholarship - providing full tuition, room and board, and expenses for his fourth year. Legitimately, he could have accepted the Gray-Carrington Scholarship and kept his Holland Scholarship, applying the Holland funds to graduate school. Instead, he gave $10,000 back to the Holland Fund.
"The Jerome Holland Scholarship provided me with more than just crucial financial assistance in getting through school. It gave me instant access to a network of brilliant and fun students with whom I maintain friendships to this day," says Gray, an attorney with Boies, Schiller, and Flexner in Albany, New York. "The other scholars, the administrative support, and the strength of character Jerome Holland represents not only inspired me to be a leader, but also taught me never to put a ceiling on my education.
Accomplishments of other Holland Alumni include:
- Professor of physics, Spelman College
- Securities law attorney, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Director, Center for Intellectual Property in the Digital Environment, University of Maryland University College
- Pediatrician, Decatur, Alabama
- Poet, author of Asylum and Controvertibles (University of Pittsburgh Press)
- Actor, appearing in The Shield, Sally Hemmings, G. I. Jane, and other television shows and films
- Lobbyist and political consultant, Washington D.C.
- Vice President, Riggs Steigerwald money management firm
- Executive Director, An-Bryce Foundation
