The smell of fresh-baked cookies wafting through a back door greets the myriad days with relaxation and comfort. That door has been flung open at the hands of two busy boys, Jack Thomas, 16, and Britton, 12; a college freshman, Carson; and a workaholic university chancellor, our very own Keith.
The smell is of home, and the not-so-small family is the Carvers. Living life in the small town of Martin means a lot of things to the college students who call it home and even the locals who frequent the Westview High football games.
However, for the Carvers, home is wherever Hollianne is.
Hollianne Holmes met Keith Carver when they were students at, formerly, Memphis State University and married in 1995. They both have had a passion for education since their time together there. She taught elementary education for 11 years in their various home towns and says that working with children, particularly kindergarteners, is her passion.
“It’s a fun age. I love them. They’re fun, and it’s all brand-new, and they love you,” Hollianne says. However, her time outside of the classroom has been used to further the goals of her family and to support them in every way possible.
“She’s the chief operating officer,” Keith says. “She’s the glue in our house. We don’t miss a beat, and I’m glad that’s not up to me.”
Keith says his wife has two careers, her full-time job as a mother and wife, and her UTM job as a facilitator. For Hollianne, however, it’s always one.
“I love to support Keith. And I like to stay flexible to be able to do that as much as possible,” Hollianne says.
Keith says that Hollianne has incredible time management and works to support everyone
in all of their hobbies and tasks.
“Our time together starts at 4:55 every morning. We get up and have a cup of coffee and watch the news. We go to Boot Camp at The Sideline until 6:15, and then we get 25 minutes together before we get the boys up. … By 6:45 the boys are up and we’re all out by 7:30,” says Keith of their daily routine.
From there after taking the kids to school, her structure becomes a little more varied.
“No two days are the same,” she says.
Some days the next calendar ping signals committee meetings for the Northwest Tennessee Book Festival or the YoungLife Club, with which she closely works, at Westview High School. Other times it’s spent with the same students her husband so tirelessly encourages. Hollianne works with UTM students by supervising their practice teaching for the College of Education.
Many days this takes her back to the familiar halls of an elementary school. There she watches as the young minds she loved to inspire when she was teaching gain their knowledge from the same students graduating under the leadership of her husband.
The Carvers’ passion for education and love of family have always come full circle and pushed them to lead a well-rounded life.
“We try to be as balanced as possible, and that’s why we wanted to work with the Healthy Hawks program. When we feel good about our bodies, it makes our days flow smoother and our attitudes more uplifting,” Hollianne says.
She says that her time at the gym each morning is more in support of Keith, and at first the “friendly couples’ competition” didn’t seem like something she would be interested in.
However she has grown to love that time together and the ways they motivate each other to care for their bodies.
Their healthy lives began together in Knoxville, they found ways to continue them when they moved to Martin in 2017.
“When He speaks, you listen,” said Hollianne about the inspired decision to come to Martin.
“It was difficult; we thought about it for a long time. Truly, we just felt like [Martin] was where we were supposed to be, and everything was pointing us in this direction,” she said.
Keith told her that although working with UT System President Joe DiPietro from 2011-2016 was wonderful, he missed the classroom. They knew deep down that this was the change they wanted and needed.
People who work with Hollianne have noted her genuine nature and share Keith’s love for her.
“[Hollianne] is very special and a light to everyone she meets,” said Jenna Kirby, from Nashville, senior at UTM who works closely with the Carvers as a part of YoungLife.
“She is patient, kind and always level headed and realistic. She’s an intelligent woman and does every job very well … never leaves something undone,” Kirby said.
“Every time I have been to the Carver house, Hollianne has always greeted me with love. She has accepted my friends and I as her own and has been the truest form of Southern hospitality,” said Haley Carpenter, from Jackson, a junior at UTM who works with Hollianne through YoungLife.
Hollianne describes herself as being everything she can to support her husband and her family, but to those who interact with her, she has always been more than a woman behind the man. Young women look up to her, her husband admires her and she always leaves a smile on the faces of those she encounters.
In life, there are plenty of superlatives to win: “Best in class,” “best cook,” “best friend,”
“best teacher.” These terms might refer to two or three different people in each person’s life, but
the only constant for Hollianne is the word “best.”
No matter whom you ask, you will always hear, “Hollianne is the best,” with no classifiers, or groupings, or titles. She exists in a class all of her own, and she excels at being exactly who she is.
Hollianne Carver pictured with husband, Keith, at the 2018 Spring senior walk as part of I Heart UTM Week. | Pacer Photo/ Rachel Moore
