Staff Spotlight: David Holm
by Katie Cole, Batavia High School junior/BPS101 Communications Dept. intern
Classrooms full of new students with hopeful faces. Hundreds of names to learn and little time to get to know everyone. Year after year, teaching and positively impacting students’ lives. These scenarios are all very familiar to Rotolo Middle School teacher David Holm. After 48 years of teaching, many members of the Batavia community would say Mr. Holm has mastered the art of education.
David Holm, language arts teacher, Rotolo Middle School
His impressive—and unexpected—career began when he was in college. “I was a political science major in the pre-law program. I was going to be a lawyer,” he said.
Mr. Holm, however, found his passion for education in the history classes he was taking.
“I loved the classes and was inspired by the teachers. They changed people’s lives and made subjects like the Russian Revolution come to life,” he explained. “I wanted to teach history, too. Help people see that things that seemed boring were, in fact, fascinating.”
These classes (and teachers) helped him decide the subjects he wanted to specialize in—English and social studies. Although Holm enjoys math and taught it for one year, he hasn’t taught any other subjects.
Mr. Holm is well known in Batavia, however, he didn’t start out here. In his first five years as a teacher, he taught at a small Catholic school, St. Therese, on the east side of Aurora. Mr. Holm recalls his time there as “very happy days.” He then taught for two years at The American School of London in England before taking a job in Batavia.
Throughout his teaching career, Mr. Holm has made a huge impact on hundreds, if not thousands, of students’ lives, which he said is a career highlight.
“Seeing a student who previously struggled or who maybe didn’t like writing or reading become someone who changed his or her mind. That transformation is the whole point, and the best part,” said Mr. Holm.
Outside of helping students inside the classroom, Mr. Holm enjoys many unique hobbies. These activities include reading, fishing, cooking, and competing in Ironman triathlons. He has completed a number of Ironman races, which aren’t for the faint of heart. These races include a 2.4-mile swim and 112-mile bike ride, followed up by a 26.2-mile run.
A particular race that stands out in Mr. Holm’s memory is the “Escape from Alcatraz” triathlon in San Francisco.
“Organizers take all participants out near the island where the prison is. When the boat gets pretty close we all jump in and swim in 55 degree water the mile and a half to shore,” he said.
Crazy!
In addition to worrying about staying afloat for the lengthy swim, Mr. Holm said he was concerned about the marine life.
“When I was swimming, I kept looking down when I breathed to see if any great white sharks were nearby,” he said. “Understandable fear probably kept them at a distance from a very dangerous man.”
Mr. Holm plans on staying active, especially when summer arrives. The summer of 2019 is a big one for Mr. Holm, too, as it marks the end to his teaching legacy at Rotolo. After 48 years, he will be retiring in May.
When asked if he has any immediate plans for the summer, Mr. Holm said he will be taking a 14-hour drive up to Lake Placid in upstate New York.
“I will swim in Mirror Lake. Ride my bike in the Adirondack Mountains. Run the highways and hills,” he said.
When asked what he will miss most about teaching, Mr. Holm responded that it will be the kids.
“I have come to see Batavia as my home. Regardless of where I reside. Batavia kids have been my life. I will miss them most of all. Every day,” he said.
Many of his past students feel the same way about their middle school teacher.
Kyra Swims, a student of Mr. Holm’s during the 2015-2016 school year said, “Mr. Holm had a different approach to teaching that made his class really enjoyable and fun. I remember the most from his classes even though we didn’t have a test every week. He’s one of those teachers you’ll never forget.”
Jack Gillerlain, BHS alum (class of 2018) said, “Mr. Holm is a man of few words, but his words are meaningful and pretty hard to forget. He is a wonderful teacher.”
After 48 years of teaching, Mr. Holm has experienced many changes, but said one thing remains constant.
“Kids are forever the same. Kids have doubts. Uncertainties. They sometimes lose their confidence. Need direction,” he said. “It’s nice to be part of any process that leads to happier people.”
