Girl's Golf | 10/7/2024 2:48:00 PM

 
Mt. Pleasant, SC – Control is not something many high school students think they have over their lives. Between the parents, teachers, coaches and peers, most feel as if their world is one of constant chaos.
 
That is not the case for Oceanside Collegiate Academy senior Avelyn Holtkamp, who has a firm grasp in who she was in the past, who she is now, and who she wants to be in the future.
 
Born in Columbus, Ohio, Avelyn is the oldest of Abby and Scott Holtkamp's three children, and that fact alone has helped shape who she is, but there is so much more to her story. She was homeschooled for her final two years of junior high before enrolling at OCA and the lack of connection she felt during those two years sparked her desire to get involved in as much as possible.
 
"One thing helping keep me together is, during my freshman year REEF class, which is our college preparation class, they stressed using a planner," Holtkamp said. "I had always focused on keeping track of my schedule, but I got a planner at that point and now I plan out all my days. That has really helped me."
 
Without the planner, which has evolved to live now on her Google Calendar, it would be very easy for Avelyn to get lost in the mountain of classes and responsibilities in school, and her extra-curricular activities outside of school.
 
What makes it different for Avelyn? Consider the list of things that have been, or are currently, on her busy schedule.

• As a senior, her classes are all at the collegiate level, with all but one being held online.
• She is President of the OCA National Honor Society.
• She is President of the Student Ambassadors at Oceanside.
• She is the President and founder of the Debate Club.
• She was Editor of the OCA Yearbook for three years.
• She is a consultant in the OCA Writing Lab, helping other students.
• She has been a feature writer for the OCA student newsletter.
• She was President and founder of the Young Conservatives Club on the OCA campus as a junior.
• Just for fun, and to have some social time with friends, she has been a member of the Pickleball Club.
• Oh, and she is also a member of the Landsharks Golf team, helping that team to the state finals during her sophomore season.

"I have to be able to maneuver things around because golf takes up at least two to three hours of my afternoon every day," Holtkamp said. "It can get a little hectic and crazy, so I rely on my planner to set aside time for all of my activities to make sure I get everything done."
 
But even that long list of activities is incomplete. She has attended a pre-college business program at Wake Forest University where she led her team in creating a marketing plan that was presented to a panel of judges composed of executives from companies like Proctor & Gamble and Texas Pete and won for the best sales pitch. She was also invited by Stanford University to attend a summer law intensive program that is run by Stanford Law and Georgetown Law.
 
She was also invited to become a part of the National Society for High School Scholar, which is an international program run by the Nobel Foundation. Even back to when she was a sophomore, Avelyn was invited to participate in a mock Supreme Court trial regarding the case of Roe v. Wade that was coordinated by a member of the Harvard University Law Admissions Board. During that event, she argued the case against top attorneys and a state senator from South Carolina.
 
"That was a competition held in Charleston and included some local attorneys and people who work in our capital," Holtkamp said. "It is usually focused on recent events or hot topics, and I learned a lot doing that. The team that I was a part of included a guy who has been practicing law for 50 years. I got to meet and make connections with a lot of people. It was super informative, and I really loved it."
 
With all the exposure she has received with some of the top colleges in the nation, Avelyn certainly had her choice of colleges for next year. She visited a number of schools, but only one felt like home to her.
 
"I get asked all the time about why I didn't apply to an Ivy League school," Holtkamp said. "It really all goes back to the fact that Ivy League schools just don't fit with what I align myself with. Although I really do take academics into consideration, and an Ivy League education on my resume might look great, I wouldn't be happy there. The values of those schools are different from mine."
 
When it came time to decide where to go to college, the choice was easy for Avelyn to make.
 
"High Point stood out to me because they have a new approach to learning, it is very innovative where they have a lot of real-world applications and hands-on lessons," Holtkamp said. "Their values at the college are God, family and country, and all three of those are a big part of me. To find a college that aligns with my beliefs was really big."
 
High Point University also matches up with Oceanside Collegiate in that it is a small school with 5,000 undergraduate students and a 17-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio. HPU's values-based learning model is designed to ensure students live in an environment that models the values that built the nation. The university's campus is designed to reflect these values, and faculty and staff are empowered to positively impact students.
 
"Having more of that one-on-one opportunity at college was a really big thing for me," Holtkamp said. "I visited other schools, but they don't have the same kind of values that High Point has. I have toured High Point three times now and every time I go there, I feel safe, I feel at home, and I am happy."
 
In addition to loving the campus and its culture, Avelyn had extra incentive to choose High Point University to further her education. She was chosen to be part of High Point's Junior Scholar's program, which is for high-achieving Juniors. This program provides many benefits, such as early acceptance, priority housing, scholarship money, priority for fellowships and more.
 
Before she can turn her full attention to her future at High Point, where her plan is to major in Entrepreneurship with minors in Marketing and Political Science, Avelyn is focused on her present at Oceanside.
 
"I would love to have straight A's again this year, that is my main goal every year, but I also want to make the most of my senior year with friends and family," she said. "I really want to have a good year with the clubs I am involved with. I sat down with all the club leaders early in the school year and told them what I wanted to accomplish this year, which is to have more student spirit, to be more assertive with strict deadlines and requirements. I am super excited, and I have some spirit days and other activities already planned and I am really excited for that."
 
While her immediate future is planned out, and her present day-to-day flows through her Google Calendar, there are still plans to be made, like what to do after college. At first, her goal was pointing toward law school, but her goals have evolved.
 
"I took some time to look inward and reflect on the things I find fascinating. I started talking with my dad about his business and I took more interest in everything he does. Marketing is something that lights my brain up and I get excited to learn about it. So, I thought that maybe I could work toward something there while also applying some of my political science brain to look at the law and maybe working on Capitol Hill someday.
 
"Right now, the plan is to create my own political campaign management firm. I hope to some day run for office and maybe expand the business into sports and entertainment and maybe even partake in my dad's business as well, but we'll see where life takes me."
 
One of the things that inspired her fascination was something she read during the pandemic when she was being homeschooled. She was introduced to a classic novel by George Orwell called "1984", which was originally published in 1948. The book is described as "a dystopian novel about a low-ranking member of the totalitarian Party in power who becomes frustrated by the omnipresent eyes of the party and its ominous ruler." It is basically a cautionary tale of what society will look like if totalitarian rule is allowed to take over.
 
"I love that book," Avelyn said. "It hit home with me because I saw a lot of parallels with today's society. I found it to be very informative and I really appreciated it. I was going through a lot at that time because of the pandemic and because I felt so isolated, just like everyone else. It was also a time that I found the things I am passionate about.
 
"I was already interested in public policy, but after reading the book and seeing all the parallels I started thinking there must be something I can do to make a difference. I saw our country heading toward disaster and the thought of one day working for change deeply resonated with me."
 
Her opinions on where the United States stands now, four years after first reading the book, haven't changed.
 
"In my opinion, we are literally living in George Orwell's worst nightmare in our country right now and I would love to hopefully be a part of the change some day."
 
After forming the Young Conservatives Club as a junior, she said she discovered just how difficult fighting for change is. Even though it is her primary passion, she stepped back a little this year to focus more on the now, and less on the past and the future.
 
"On my social media I post a lot of political content, and I have drawn some backlash for that, but that is okay because it only makes you stronger," Avelyn said. "That is how I am staying active in the political field for now. I love reading the news so I can stay informed and pay attention to everything that is going on."
 
In addition to her goals for college and beyond, Holtkamp is also serious about community service. All students at Oceanside are required to do a certain amount of community service to graduate, but Avelyn was exposed to the positivity of service from an early age by her parents.
 
Knowing what it is like to be a homeschool student, she has spent time volunteering as a teacher's assistant for a local homeschool pod. That work allowed her to help create lesson plans and tutor students, specifically in History. She has also worked on adding to the REEF program at Oceanside and has worked in the school writing lab to help fellow Landsharks who might need a little extra attention.
 
"My college English professor, who is adjunct at OCA, runs the writing lab," Holtkamp said. "She is so intelligent and passionate about the lab, and I really appreciate that in a teacher. When you find a teacher who is passionate about the subject, it is just incredible. The writing lab is so nice because I get to hone my writing skills and it is nice to be able to work with my peers and help them with their writing as well."
 
Susan Smith, who runs the writing lab at OCA in addition to teaching college level English classes, said she saw a passion for learning in Avelyn from the start.
 
"After only one semester of working with her, it was obvious she would make a fantastic consultant in the OCA Writing Lab I run," Smith said. "She was eager to be a part of this group to help her peers and is one of the first people to offer help. Her kindness and acuity are a major asset to me and to her peers. She is a clear, articulate tutor who patiently guides students to their own understanding. Avelyn is at the heart of our school."
 
Holtkamp's work with the REEF program at Oceanside has been similar in nature to her contributions to the writing lab. She saw a need within the program after going through it as a freshman, and she stepped up with a plan to fill the areas where improvement in the program was needed.
 
"The REEF program does a really good job of covering the necessities for being a successful student, such as making sure you understand time management and other similar things, but they really didn't touch on service," Holtkamp said. "Having done a lot of community service with my family, I found this as a gap in the lesson plans for the REEF program, so, I presented to Ms. (Jenny) Cassell a project idea I thought would be really cool."
 
So, Holtkamp devised a full lesson plan for a REEF program day with content to cover. She designed a community service project for the freshmen to do, complete with a slide show detailing the importance of community service and how doing service work makes you better as a person.
 
"The plan was for the freshmen to do service projects and then present what they accomplished to their classmates," Holtkamp said. "The Student Ambassadors were there to watch the presentations. It was really nice to get the freshmen involved and show them that, even though community service is a requirement for graduation, it is really important for your entire life. We should always pay attention to those in need and help out where you can."
 
Chemistry teacher Katie Smit, who is also a REEF teacher, said it is the determination and drive that Avelyn displays that motivates other students, and even the instructors at OCA.
 
"Avelyn is a driven and self-motivated student," Smit said. "She is also one of the most considerate and thoughtful students I have had the pleasure of working with. She is a natural born leader and, as a Student Ambassador in my REEF classes, she was a positive role model for our youngest Landsharks."
 
As if her academics, school clubs and community service efforts don't keep her busy enough, Holtkamp is also a member of the golf team at Oceanside. She said she likes it because of the mental challenge the game presents.
 
"A lot of people think golf is easy, you just go out on the course and swing, and that's golf," Holtkamp said. "I always tell them it is a very tough mental game because you have to deal with your internal thoughts throughout the round. It is very taxing."
 
And while practice and competing does take up a lot of time, one of the things she likes most about it is that she can spend time with her brother, Ashden, who is a junior at OCA, out on the course together.
 
"I try to plan as much time as I can on the range and on the course because it is another thing where I can spend time with my brother, which is nice, especially since I will be leaving next fall," Avelyn said. "I want to spend as much time with him as possible while I can. It is difficult to find the time for it, but you do what you can."
 
Spending time with Ashden and her sister Aria, who is an eighth grader, it very important to Avelyn. She said one of her motivations to do so much and be involved with so many activities at Oceanside is to smooth the road for her siblings as they follow in her footsteps.
 
"I always try to do the best I can to help my siblings have the best life they can," Avelyn said. "I have tried to create good relationships with the teachers so that when my brother and sister have the same teachers, they will remember me and maybe help set them up for success in those classes.
 
"I have tried to lead the best I can, and that is why I have been so invested in being in leadership roles to show them they can do it too. Family is really important to me and being a role model for them is something I take very seriously. It really is where all my ambition comes from."
 
Her efforts at Oceanside have made a strong impression.
 
"She isn't content to follow the well-worn trail," Oceanside principal Christina Brown said. "With boundless ambition and an unwavering drive, Avelyn forges her own path, embracing unique experiences that set her apart, not because she has to, but because she wants to. Every step is a testament to her initiative and vision for something greater." 
 
Avelyn has one passion she saves for herself, something she turns to when there is time to relax and clear her mind. It is a passion few of her instructors would even have. This passion started with her grandfather and has now grown into a near full-on obsession.
 
She is a collector of old vinyl records.
 
"Music holds a very big place in my heart," Holtkamp said. "I love listening to classical music all the way to modern music, but I especially enjoy the music from the 50s and 60s. My grandparents both loved music just as much as me and they had a huge record collection in their basement, and I was always so fascinated with it. Finally, my grandfather let me take the collection because he knew I would be responsible with it and that I loved it just as much as he does."
 
And the collection is incredible! She has original releases from The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Elton John, Led Zepplin and many more.
 
"Listening to the records helps me to wind down and brings down my stress level, so I really appreciate having the collection," Avelyn said. "When I listen to records, the music just sounds more authentic than when I listen over the radio or phone. I love it when you can really hear the instruments playing. There is just so much more soul in those recordings than what you hear today.
 
"I love it so much that now I go to record stores all the time to see if I can come across any really cool finds."
 
She mentioned one particular album in her collection that stands out as her favorite, with another as a close second.
 
"I have an original live pressing from Woodstock which is one of the big ones I love," Avelyn said. "I also have the Abbey Road collection of The Beatles, which has all their demos. It is awesome."
 
With her time at Oceanside Collegiate Academy quickly winding toward its end, Avelyn said she could never be thankful enough for all the experiences and all the lessons she has learned during her time there.
 
"I am so appreciative of Oceanside for allowing me to partake in college courses to get those core courses out of the way so I can focus in on what I really want to learn," Avelyn said. "I have always wanted to put my best foot forward and leave an impression that, even though I had all these activities, it is not as hard as it looks.
 
"It is important for students to not just look for the easy road through everything, or focus too much on athletics, or too much on academics that they don't have a social life as well. It is important to know you can do it all if you learn time-management, you'll be able to work through all those struggles. Don't be afraid to ask for help because there are always people who are willing to help."
 
And there might even be someone who is planning to change the world somewhere down the long and winding road of life.

About Oceanside Collegiate Academy: Oceanside Collegiate Academy (OCA), located in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., serves high school students in a safe, small and family-centered setting. Our students seek the opportunity and challenge of rigorous curriculum, high academic standards and elite athletics while earning up to two years of college credit. OCA serves students in grades 9-12 using an honors curriculum in 9th and 10 grades with a dual enrollment curriculum in 11th and 12th grades Learn more about OCA by visiting our website at OceansideCollegiateAcademy.org and by following us on social media on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channel.