BRIGHT FUTURES: SISD ALUMNI Karen Hollard Receives the Sunnyvale Alumni Association’s 2021 Legacy Award Beloved, long-time Sunnyvale ISD teacher Ms. Karen Holland has received the Sunnyvale Alumni Association’s Legacy Award for 2021. Ms. Holland has the distinction of being the employee who has taught the most years in a Sunnyvale ISD classroom — 40 years. She retired in 2020. During that time, she taught American History, Texas History, World Geography, Theatre Arts and World History. She also coached volleyball for eight years, sponsored the cheerleaders for six years, and advised the yearbook staff.
“Mr. B heard that I was looking for a job and had interviewed at Highland Park,” she said. “He called their district office and they gave him my contact information. He called me at my best friend’s house, and would you believe he hired me right then over the phone?”
She also touched the lives of countless Sunnyvale kids. “Karen Holland helped shape the person I am today,” alumna Carmen James Elder (SJH ‘88) said. “She loved me at times I felt unlovable and showed tough love when I needed it. I wanted to be just like her.” Ms. Holland began working for Sunnyvale ISD in 1980 after being hired by long-time Superintendent Gwinn Blankenship — believe it or not — over the phone.
She spent the next 40 years in service to SISD, guiding students and teaching them about history and life. “What I loved about teaching in Sunnyvale is the relationship we built with the kids,” Ms. Holland said. “As soon as they left for high school, they became our friends. Here I am 40 years later, and I have former students who call me regularly and take care of me as they would their parents. I just love when that happens. Where else in America does that happen except Sunnyvale, Texas?”
Carmen James Elder (SJH Class of ‘88) Named Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Few Sunnyvale alums have made an impact on the Town of Sunnyvale the way this year’s Distinguished Alumnus of the Year has. Through her contributions as a Sunnyvale school principal, a community volunteer and a town business advocate, Carmen James Elder has touched the lives of countless Sunnyvale Raiders. 8 | SUNNYVALE ISD HORIZONS
Carmen graduated from Sunnyvale Junior High School in 1988 after attending the then K-8 campus during kindergarten and first grade and then again from fifth grade through eighth grade. At the time, because Sunnyvale did not have a high school, students attended Poteet High School. Carmen graduated from Poteet High School in 1992. She then graduated from Texas A&M University in 1996. “My favorite memory growing up as a Raider was the weekly pep rally,” Carmen said. “As I got older and became part of the pep rallies, I remember being so excited to carry on the traditions of those kids that went before me. I still love when everyone stands and sings Sunnyvale Our Sunnyvale together.”
