Profile: Brenna Holloway: Junior High History Teacher
Profile: Brenna Holloway: Junior High History Teacher
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
Then Story: College student, working as an aid for elementary school kids
Now Story: Junior high history teacher
Curb moment: Facing a life-altering event that ignited a determination in her to defy the odds
When life as you know it flips upside down, what does it mean for your career? In Brenna’s case, surviving a near-death experience meant motivation to tackle both her career aspirations and her life to its fullest.
What do you do? Tell us about it.
“I am just beginning my first year as a seventh and eighth-grade history teacher. I have been working towards this the last few years and am excited to finally be beginning my career.”
Along with history, Brenna teaches elective classes in debate and broadcast media. Not only does she work with a variety of students, she also gets to utilize skills acquired from majoring in communication (with an emphasis in public relations) and feels “extremely blessed” to be in the career she always dreamed of despite some unimaginable setbacks along the way.
Why did you choose this career?
By her fourth year as an undergrad at Sacramento State, Brenna began seriously considering career options. Beyond her original dream of becoming a talk show host, she looked into doing public relations work with sports teams, but ultimately felt a pull toward teaching; an interest first inspired by summers spent volunteering for school programs and coaching basketball camps when she was a teenager. She was also inspired by the memorable teachers she had as a child.
“I had the absolute best teachers EVERY year in elementary, and even some in junior high [school] that I remember so well and who impacted my life so heavily. When I thought about what I really wanted to do, I was working as an aid at the school I work at now. Working there helped me realize I actually enjoy getting up to go to work, and frankly, it doesn’t even feel like work.”
Brenna ultimately decided to go to graduate school to earn her master’s degree. She was accepted at William Jessup University in 2017 and began working as a student-teacher in a 6th-grade classroom. After two years of polishing her thesis, furthering her education, and getting hands-on experience with students, Brenna graduated last spring. This accomplishment was especially meaningful because, unlike many of her fellow students, Brenna had some significant challenges to overcome on her way to earning her degree and following her career path.
What would you say was your “curb moment (s)?”
Brenna was approaching the age of 22 and getting ready to graduate from Sacramento State, when her world was flipped upside-down in a major car accident.
“Me and another car hit on the freeway, (the sides of their car and mine,) and mine flipped 4 times. Even though I had my seatbelt on, my airbags didn’t go off which caused me to slip out of my seatbelt and eject through the front window.”
As a result of the severe crash, Brenna withstood major injuries. She faced internal bleeding in her spleen, a traumatic brain injury, the detachment of the retina on her left eye, damage to the skin on her face, multiple broken ribs and a broken wrist, as well as a torn ACL and meniscus. Due to her substantial injuries, Brenna recalls being repeatedly told by the doctors at the hospital and the paramedics on sight that it was a miracle she made it. The biggest injury was to her spinal cord which was crushed by the impact. This injury meant she was permanently paralyzed from the waist down.
“The last thing I remember is walking out of the gym at Sac State swinging my keys and then waking up to when they told me I would never walk again.”
What kind of challenges have you had since then?
At first, Brenna was just happy to be alive and had a strong drive to jump back into life to defy the odds. One memorable instance was when her social worker at the hospital advised her to take three years off of school after she was released, but Brenna refused. In adjusting to the shock of the accident and her new life not being able to walk, she felt an overwhelming drive to return to school and not take too much time away from her long term goals.
“One, that would mean I would be disenrolled which means even though I only had one semester left, I could end up needing even more units and classes, making it more expensive and longer to graduate. I am someone that becomes more motivated if I feel doubted, and because she said ‘well normally people take 3 years,’ I decided to go back to school 5 months after I was let out of the hospital.”
However, her fight began to dissipate when she faced a mental block. As the day she returned to school got closer and closer, self doubt increasingly creeped in.
“I knew that the 3 remaining classes I had were a lot of group work, and I was so worried that no one would want to be in my group. I forgot who said it to me, but they were like, ‘stop. If you saw someone in a wheelchair would you not be in their group?’ My obvious answer was ‘no I’d definitely be in their group,’ and they said ‘exactly!’”
Looking back today, Brenna acknowledges that her concerns were self-constructed and did not reflect reality and that her fellow classmates and peers around her were ‘for her and not against her.’
“On ‘day one’ back at Sac State, I learned how much more kindness there is in the world. Everyone I saw who didn’t even know me would go out of their way to open a door, pull out a chair from the desk, and of course, people didn’t even think twice about being in my group.”
How have you overcome these challenges?
“Easy. God first. Nancy Drew second. Obviously also the extreme support from my family, friends, co-workers, and everyone I met along the way. My relationship with God was strengthening more than any time in my life the four weeks leading up to my car accident (not by coincidence) and I remember waking up, the doctor telling me I would never walk again, and feeling more peace than ever before. Nancy Drew is a superwoman who happens to be my mother. She has been there day in and day out and supported me 100% of the time. When I didn’t have confidence in myself to do something, she did. She still does. Every day.
The biggest accomplishment Brenna made in her journey to success was not letting her setbacks, no matter how life-changing, ruin her plans for the future. She trains herself to be prepared for when self-doubt creeps back in and tries to keep her focus forward.
“Although I may not understand why or what is happening as an effect of my accident, I know it is all for the good of me and hopefully others. It’s sink or swim right? Are you going to let things ruin your life while you're still here? Or can you use your life to be your best and hopefully inspire others on the way?”
What advice do you have for others “at the curb” who want to make a career change or start something new?
“Find things to fuel you. For me, I’m extremely competitive. So I compete against myself, and say, ‘let’s conquer this!”
And Brenna has done just that!
By Off the Curb Features Writer, Paige Holloway