‘She was the reason I strived higher.’ Miami Dade College students honor a mentor

Alexandria Holloway didn’t place limitations on her students. They speak of her “tough love.” They called her “a second mother.”

Days after hearing of Holloway’s death from breast cancer at 79 on July 18, according to her nephew, Miami Dade College students reacted. They spoke of meeting her as uncertain, yet bright, teens. Today, they are adults with chosen careers in government, education, medicine. They all credit the gifts she imprinted on them.

“She encouraged a little brown girl from Miami to dream beyond what she could see, guided me to Howard University, helped me navigate scholarships and internships, and constantly reminded me that my story was still being written,” said one of those students, Nicole Golden, now 41, and a STEAM and innovation educator based in Kuwait. STEAM’s instructional approach integrates science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics — adding the arts to the familiar STEM approach.

In 2002, Holloway founded and directed the Honors College on Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus. A year later, she expanded the program to the Kendall and North campuses in 2003.

The Honors College at Miami Dade is a two-year academic program within the school designed for high-achieving, first-time-in-college students with grade point averages of 3.7 or above. Holloway designed the honors-designated curriculum to prepare students to earn their associate in arts degree with honors while seamlessly transferring to top-tier universities worldwide.

During the orientation ceremony that second year in 2003, Holloway told incoming students: “There may be only 300 spots at a certain university, so you want to position yourself so you are better prepared than other students. But do things you’ve always wanted to do in college. Don’t let that stop you from taking a piano class if it interests you. That’s the mark of a well-rounded student.”

Golden was a member of the second graduating class, enrolling in 2003 and graduating in 2005.

“What began as a student-mentor relationship grew into a lifelong bond,” she said. “Over the past 23 years, she became far more than my Honors College dean — she became a mentor, a trusted advisor, and family.”

Holloway’s career at Miami Dade College spanned 35 years. She joined the institution during America’s bicentennial year in 1976, advancing through her retirement in 2011.

In 2011, Golden established the Dr. Alexandria Holloway Golden Dream Scholarship Fund as a token of appreciation and gratitude for everything Holloway had poured into her students, Golden told the Miami Herald. “I had the honor of presenting it to her during her retirement celebration from Miami Dade College while she was still with us, which is something I will always cherish.”

The scholarship supports students in the Miami Dade College Honors College.

“My hope was to help continue her legacy by ensuring that future Honors College students would benefit from the same spirit of excellence, opportunity and encouragement that she gave to so many of us,” Golden said.

Students’ reflections

Golden, 41, recently spent three years teaching in Kuwait until the war’s escalation in the Middle East led her back home to Miami. Holloway guided her journey.

“She encouraged me that it was time to come home and walked with me through one of the most difficult seasons of my life. Even while facing her own health challenges, she continued to pray for us, encourage us, connect us with people who could help, and make sure we safely navigated passport issues and other obstacles. Her strength never wavered, and I will forever be grateful for the role she played in helping bring my daughter and me safely back home,” Golden said.

“She was the reason I strived higher,” said Susana Montes Centola, Philadelphia-based managing editor for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs. “She was a second mother. She believed in me before I believed in myself.”

Centola, 42, was a first-generation student from Colombia and intern at Miami Dade College when she applied to join Holloway’s inaugural Honors program on the Wolfson campus.

“I didn’t have the funds to pay for college and so it was through Miami Dade Honors College that I was funded, and then through that, I got a full ride to Stanford University,” Centola said in a telephone interview with the Herald.

“She was remarkable. She’s been in my life from the innocent eyes of 19-year-old going to college, to going to grad school, to going to my first job, to getting married, to having children, to getting divorced. She’s been through my life for all the things,” Centola said. “The reason why I was able to travel the world, to go to all these different places, work for Facebook, for Microsoft. People magazine in New York. Every single career choice I made, I gave her a call, and she would guide me through life.”

Dr. Geden Franck, a sports medicine physician at Memorial Healthcare System in Hollywood, joined Holloway’s Honors program at Miami Dade in 2005, graduating in 2007.

“She gave me a future. She gave me a drive. She gave me a motivation. She gave me something to look forward to,” the 39-year-old Miami-born son of Haitian immigrants and Miami Northwestern Senior High School grad said in a phone interview. “I was introduced to her before I even matriculated into the Honors College, and she basically took me under her wing, and she exposed me to things that I never would have been exposed to before without the Honors College.”

Through Holloway’s mentorship, Franck studied abroad in Salzburg, Austria, completed his education and a year-long sports medicine fellowship at the University of Miami in 2018 before joining Memorial Healthcare. The pair continued to chat regularly, at least a couple of times a month, until she got sick.

“She took a method of tough love that basically got me to where I am today,” he said. “She had a high bar that she wanted me to meet and she reminded me of my potential daily, always reinforced it, always stressed the importance of giving your best, and even when you fail to keep going. It was definitely impactful. I don’t think I would have made it without that guidance.”

Holloway’s background

Holloway, who loved salmon and shrimp, the fall and spring, and visits to Amsterdam, was born April 15, 1947, in Jackson, Mississippi, and earned her bachelor’s degree in music education from Jackson State University in 1968, and master’s from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1970. She earned her doctorate in music education from Florida State University in 1984.

Her favorite quote, from a 2017 interview by The History Makers: “Teachers are known by the students they teach.”

She started her career in education at Garden Hills Elementary School in Champaign, Illinois, and in 1973, she began teaching music and piano classes at her alma mater, Jackson State University. The following year, Holloway began teaching middle school classes at Franklin Junior High School in Champaign.

Then came that life-altering decision to land at Miami Dade College’s doorstep 50 years ago.

Holloway began as chairman of the music department. In 1986, she was appointed as the associate dean of arts and letters at the Kendall campus and 10 years later, Holloway was appointed academic dean at the Wolfson campus under then-president Eduardo Padron.

Miami Dade College remembrances

“Dr. Holloway was instrumental in the creation of the Honors College,” Padron, president emeritus of Miami Dade College, said in an email to the Miami Herald. “As founding dean, she established the rigorous academic standards that built the program into a premier pipeline to the nation’s most elite universities. She set high expectations for her students, yet always provided the steadfast support necessary to help them reach their goals. She will be deeply remembered for her profound dedication to student success.”

After leaving Miami Dade College, Holloway served as the president and chief executive officer of Miami’s AH Academic Consulting Group. Holloway was a board member of the New World School of the Arts, the YMCA South Dade Family Center, the Concert Association of Florida, and the Jubilate Chorale. She also served as president of the national Black Music Caucus (renamed the National Association for the Study and Performance of African American Music in 1997) and as the chapter president of the volunteer service organization Links Inc. in 1996.

“For some 35 years, Dr. Holloway devoted her life and gifts to this institution … a legacy that continues to shape the lives of some of our most ambitious students today,” Miami Dade College President Madeline Pumariega said in a statement.

“Music was not simply her discipline; it was her ministry. A Christian woman of great faith, she served for many years as Minister of Music at Bethel Baptist Church of Richmond Heights, where she was a sister, friend and inspiration to her congregation. Those of us who knew her will remember her compassion, her steady presence and her gift for offering sage advice without judgment. She endeared herself to students, faculty and staff alike, being a woman for all seasons, a leader and a musician extraordinaire. So many across our College family credit their careers to her mentorship and encouragement. She was, simply, one of MDC’s best,” Pumariega said.

Services and survivors

Holloway’s survivors include her two nephews, Camod Lynch Sr. in Memphis and Creston C. Lynch in Washington, and aunt Aretta Kelley Smith and “a host of cousins who are like siblings, god-children, family, and friends.”

Services were held.

This story was originally published July 29, 2026 at 10:19 AM.