by Jilliann Denbo

Former JHS student Maxine Prickett took English teacher Holden Henderson’s advice all the way to Florida.

Prickett, a former student of Henderson’s said, “Mr. Henderson’s words have carried with me since he told me that he was proud of me while receiving my award for most changed during freshman year. It wasn’t that he said he was proud, it was that he meant it.”

This is how Henderson makes an impact on each of his students.

“I hope that I inspire them to be themselves and to try to make the world a better place,” Henderson said.

Henderson undeniably enjoys his job daily, working with his students. 

Most people only look at Henderson as a regular English teacher that has a man bun and wears crazy shirts daily, but that’s not the case. He strives to make sure he understands each of his students no matter what. 

“He doesn’t try to be your friend, rather, an adult that you can trust,” said Prickett.

One of Henderson’s favorite parts of his job is to see his students’ success after leaving his classroom.

“It seems a lot of times I see growth over the course of the year, so I hope that it’s from them taking my advice,” he said.

Not only does Henderson make sure his students feel well, but he creates a positive environment for them in his classroom.

“I try to make sure that the decorations represent me and not just school stuff so that they understand that this is, you know, a place where they can be themselves. Then personally I just try to make sure to greet the students with a smile, I try to check on them to make sure that they understand that I care and that they should feel safe here,” Henderson said.

He takes pride in making sure his students feel welcomed.

“Mr Henderson was a caring and fun English teacher and always made sure we were learning something new each day,” said sophomore Reese Dobson.

Even with all the work, Henderson finds ways to pull his students into what he is teaching. 

“The stories that I pick as an English teacher, I try to make sure that they aren’t terribly boring and stuff like that, even the ones that are, I try to explain the significance and bring it related to the students so that it’s not as boring because it’s hard to learn when you are bored,” He said. 

Henderson takes pride in teaching at JHS, he knew from a young age that he wanted to be a part of the Red Devil community.

“When I was young, my grandparents had season tickets to Jeff games and so I was here a lot.  I was kind ofa always proud of the Red Devils. Growing up in Jeff, I want to give back to the community. And by trying to be a positive influence in students’ lives, I hope that I’m making the community a better place,” Henderon said.

Henderson’s words will always carry on with his students, and they will always continue to do so. 

“When I did my student teaching, I just fell in love with the school and this is where I knew I wanted to be.”