One of our Senior Spotlights this week shines on, in his own words, the humble and humorous Holden Haggerty. He joined our school in ninth grade and quickly became a part of the RMA family since, following in the footsteps of his grandfather (whom Holden considers to be his role model), he tries his best to treat everybody with kindness–which is always the best way to forge new friendships! 

Academically, Holden has put in the work year after year. He is currently taking a senior schedule that includes electives like Ceramics and EC Help balanced by tough academic courses like AP Psychology, AP Environmental Science, English 12 Honors, Algebra III/Trigonometry. Despite being new to RMA in ninth grade, he was awarded Highest Academic Average in both English 9 (so freshman year) and Modern European History (in tenth grade). He also earned recognition for his hard work overall by earning a spot on the B Honor Roll in both ninth and tenth grades. Before too long, as a junior, Holden moved up to the A Honor Roll! His advice to freshmen and new students is that high school at RMA might be nerve-racking, but the teachers care a lot about their students; everyone is easy to make friends with, so success will come!

Beyond academics, Holden has made a major impact in Rocky Mount Academy athletics by serving as a formidable competitor and a great teammate in soccer, basketball, and golf. In grades 9-11, Holden played both defense and offense on the varsity boys soccer team and won All-Conference all three years. Just this week, Holden finished out his high school basketball career after playing on the varsity boys team throughout all of Upper School. As a sharpshooter on the basketball team (he had the highest three-point percentage this year!), Holden made important contributions, facilitating the offense and bringing a lot of zeal in his capacity as a guard. With basketball season behind him, Holden is about to start golf, which he has played each spring since ninth grade. As with

his other sports, Holden has found success in golf, winning All-Conference in his sophomore and junior years. In addition to playing it (and well), Holden loves to watch golf and attended the US Open at Pinehurst and the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, both in 2024. Although passionate about and great at all three sports, golf is definitely his favorite, and Holden says if he could be any celebrity for a day, he would choose Scottie Scheffler (a professional golfer) because he is so good and wins everything! For reference, Holden shoots around par (72 shots for 18 holes), while his idol Scottie Scheffler typically shoots between 64-69 on the PGA Tour.

Holden is also very invested in his extracurricular activities both inside and outside of school. In a good reflection of his character, Holden participates in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and lives out his beliefs as part of Stronger Together, a club that supports the Exceptional Children’s (EC) Program with events like the Unified Prom (which gives special needs children their very own prom experience) and in-school activities where traditional students can help EC students do things like carve pumpkins in October and put on a play each winter. During the school day, Holden also serves as an EC intern who helps out the EC classes’ teachers. Outside of school, he serves as a counselor for the H.O.P.E. Program, which provides enrichment to young people with special needs one Saturday each month and a week in the summer. As you can see, Holden’s commitment to this special group of young people runs deep.

 Holden has applied to many colleges and universities–where he looks forward to game days, new friends, and fraternities–including East Carolina University, NC State, Ole Miss, UNC-Wilmington, and Hampden-Sydney. As of right now, he is leaning toward East Carolina and plans to dive into Construction Management (which ECU is known for) or Business. In fact, he already has experience in the construction field, as he worked as an intern with Ingram Construction last summer. He hopes, ten years from now, to be living on a beach and building houses, all while building up his own construction business. Wherever Holden ends up, there is no doubt he will make the most of every opportunity.

Get to know Holden better!

What do you like to do in your free time?

Golfing, going to the beach to surf, and skiing during the winter in Colorado and Wyoming 

What is your favorite movie?

Good Will Hunting

What is your favorite food?

Steak

What is your dream vacation? 

Surfing in Indonesia

What items would you bring with you if stranded on a deserted island?

My brother, a fire starter, and water

What was your favorite school event?

Senior night (the night before classes started) and the Senior Breakfast the next day. I didn’t sleep, but it was so much fun!

What will you miss about RMA?

The teachers and the connections/friendships I’ve made