Training the leaders of tomorrow: Legacy gift to establish The HOLT Fund at Longwood

"

"

The more we talked about it, the more I learned about the programs that were already in place and what Longwood prioritized. I thought this money could make a difference at a place like this.

Linda Holt

"I've known Drew for decades, and when he started his position at Longwood, I got more curious about the school," Holt said. "The more we talked about it, the more I learned about the programs that were already in place and what Longwood prioritized. I thought this money could make a difference at a place like this."

So inspired by Longwood's mission of developing citizen leaders and seeding community-minded changemakers around the world, Holt has pledged a legacy gift in excess of $1 million to establish The Honors Opportunities for Leadership Transformation (HOLT) Fund at the university. Named in honor of her parents, Silas and Emma Holt, the fund will support multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary projects aimed at fostering leadership qualities in Longwood students and leveraging collaboration between multiple university entities-chiefly the Cormier Honors College and the College of Education, Health, and Human Services.

Among the first and foundational projects born from that collaboration and The HOLT Fund's support will be a program developing and deploying a curriculum for leadership training for PreK-12 students in surrounding school systems. That project stems from a direct, vocalized need from local schools and will serve as the pilot version of a broader program whose impact will expand nationwide.

"Longwood sees the importance of spending its money and resources on citizen-leaders," Holt said. "That's the message that really resonates with me. This money will be available long after my wife and I are gone, and I'm entrusting the university and that mission to do whatever is needed with this fund to pursue that."

The gift is the latest legacy contribution that Longwood has received during a record-breaking 2026 fiscal year, following the eight-figure donation by former Longwood President Dr. Janet Greenwood to launch the Keystones for Academic Excellence (KAE) Fund; the legacy gift made by Mike and Tammy Jones '81 to support the D. Michael and Tamara Bird Jones '81 Center for P-12 Outreach; and the legacy gift from William Bowman and Shirley Ashby to found The Bowman-Ashby Scholars Program.

While those other projects include priorities such as access to quality education for children in rural Virginia and the enhancement of academic success on campus, the focus of Holt's gift will be on leadership development. Exposed to that discipline later in her professional life, it's one she prioritizes as essential for young people to not only achieve personal success, but to positively affect the lives of those around them and the communities in which they live.

"It was a revelation to me," Holt said, recalling the first time she took part in formal leadership training. "It taught not only leadership skills, but how to get in touch with yourself regarding who you are as a leader in your own life, in your workplace, in your relationships with other people. I found it so intensely valuable, and I thought, 'Why am I learning this in my forties? Why can't we teach this in school and make it age appropriate for younger people?'"

"

"

[My parents] always gave a considerable amount of money every year to organizations they found worthwhile, like the Children at Heart Foundation. I saw that generosity play out my whole life, and I thought if I wanted to do something in their honor, it had to be around educating young people.

Linda Holt

Those lessons, Holt says, transcend the professional world where she honed her own leadership abilities as a business owner, grants writer and government contractor in sectors ranging from information technology to healthcare, as well as business development. They also echo lessons bestowed upon her by her parents, for whom The HOLT Fund is named and from whom a portion of the gift comes.

"My parents were very simple people," she said. "Neither one of them went to college. My father started working for Texas Power & Light; he worked very hard, and he worked his way up to become the company's chief lobbyist. My mother was a homemaker, and she supported him in everything he wanted to do.

"And they always gave a considerable amount of money every year to organizations they found worthwhile, like the Children at Heart Foundation. I saw that generosity play out my whole life, and I thought if I wanted to do something in their honor, it had to be around educating young people."

The organic, albeit roundabout manner by which Holt ultimately discovered Longwood as the deserving home for her legacy gift is a study in what appeals to so many about Longwood: a student body that engenders a genuine sense of community both on and off campus; and an academic focus that scales beyond subject matter and career preparation.

"

"

I met Linda in 1992, and I remember telling her about my time at Longwood over the years, just in an offhand conversational manner. As we became more friends than colleagues, she opened up about the things that were important to her personally, and something that kept coming up was how critical she felt it was to develop leadership traits at a young age, especially in today's climate. When I began describing to her the philosophy behind Civitae and citizen leadership, it was like a light bulb went off."

Drew Hudson '90

"I met Linda in 1992, and I remember telling her about my time at Longwood over the years, just in an offhand conversational manner," said Hudson, who returned to his alma mater in 2021 as director of donor impact.

"As we became more friends than colleagues, she opened up about the things that were important to her personally, and something that kept coming up was how critical she felt it was to develop leadership traits at a young age, especially in today's climate. When I began describing to her the philosophy behind Civitae and citizen leadership, it was like a light bulb went off."

But Holt, as she recalls, didn't want to launch that project just anywhere. She considered supporting a larger university in her home state of Texas but ultimately felt the impact of her gift-and her personal vision for a youth-focused leadership development program-would be diluted on a bigger college campus. She had also relocated to Maryland decades prior where she built her consulting firm, Holt and Associates, before retiring in 2014, and had developed an affinity for the East Coast.

Along the way, she was also cultivating a nest egg, established in part by an inheritance from her parents, and considering the best way to leave it in a manner that would benefit generations to come.

"My mother once asked me what I would do with all that money if I inherited it, and I said I'd start up a scholarship fund in her name," Holt said. "That's always been on my mind, so I've been nurturing this money, combined with what I've saved in all my years of working."

Eventually the idea of creating a sustainable fund that a university could use to implement and carry out programs aimed at developing young people into leaders took shape. Through a combination of good timing, mutual priorities and a fruitful connection with a like-minded professional-turned-friend, Holt's vision will soon become a reality.

"

"

A lot of people think of leadership as the ability to order people around and get things done, but that's not it at all," she said. "It's the ability to inspire people to get things done. Like my parents modeled to me, it's about treating your team or your coworkers with respect, setting expectations for what you want from them, and rewarding them when they deliver it.

Linda Holt

"A lot of people think of leadership as the ability to order people around and get things done, but that's not it at all," she said. "It's the ability to inspire people to get things done. Like my parents modeled to me, it's about treating your team or your coworkers with respect, setting expectations for what you want from them, and rewarding them when they deliver it."

It's also about inspiring the belief in people that they, too, can be leaders in their own way, she says.

"One of the most valuable things you can teach a young person is that you can be the leader of your own life. You don't just have to wait for things to happen to you when you grow up. Every day you make choices, and if you could make choices from a better-informed base of understanding of how to be a leader, I think the world would be a better place."