In his career and throughout his entire life, Terry Holt was an educator.
Following his graduation from South Rowan High School and Appalachian State University, he earned two degrees, history and education specialist, which he was passionate about sharing with others that he met.
His teaching career began in 1973 in Virginia where he taught until he and Eunice, his wife of 53 years, moved back to Rowan County where he continued his path as an educator. He first helped to start a school at Piedmont Correctional Center, and taught there for three years, followed by positions at Erwin Middle School and South Rowan, teaching history at both.
During his time at Erwin Middle, from 1984-1994, he served as one of the seventh grade history teachers along with Terry Shive, focusing on United States and North Carolina history. Holt was very enthusiastic about his teaching as Elliott Mathis, who served as the assistant principal at the school during Holt’s time there.
Mathis said he remembers Holt “doing his best to make history mean something to the students. It wasn’t just reading out of a book and answering some questions.”