LOGAN — Keri Holt was named the Utah State University English Teacher of the Year by the English Department, where she has been teaching for the past three years. Holt graduated from Judge Memorial Catholic High School in 1996. Holt received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Utah in 2000, and then went to Brown University in Rhode Island to receive a Ph.D in English in 2008. At USU she is an assistant professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. "She teaches late 18th- and 19th-century American literature," said Jeannie Thomas, head of the USU English Department. "She has a particular focus on regionalism, transnational studies and borderlands, and she is interested in the political philosophy of federalism. "Keri is a great person and we love having her on our faculty," said Thomas. "She won the departmental teaching award because she teaches courses, particularly the early American literature courses that are often very difficult for students because the material is removed from them historically and culturally. She makes that material accessible to them and she gets them excited about it. A lot of times when people think about early American literature, they only think of what went on in the colonies, but America was much more multi-cultural then. There are much more diverse writings than people tend to know, and Keri brings that out in her classes." "I teach borderland literature between the U.S. and Mexico and other territories, and graduate courses in American studies," said Holt. "I teach early regional literature, which back in the day, were very different from now. I try to make them interesting with lot of discussions, which make it more fun than just lecturing. I get the students talking to each other and not just filtering ideas through me, because there are a lot of different perspectives. I think they enjoy the ability of voicing their own opinions. I try to point out that the people of the past did have a sense of humor and that the literature from these periods is not just formal and dry. There are actually a lot of funny stories and funny voices." Holt said it’s been great teaching at USU, where the classes are relatively small and the students like reading and are self-motivated. "There are younger and older students who learn from each other, and listen to each other with respect," she said. Holt learned from her teachers at J.E. Cosgriff Memorial School and Judge Memorial that education is supposed to be hard, she said. She had Linda Simpson at Cosgriff, who is now at Judge, and Chris Sloan and Tim Dolan at Judge. "They all taught me that even though classes are fun they are supposed to be challenging," she said. "I taught library skills at Cosgriff and Keri was an outstanding student and an avid reader," said Simpson. "She always loved learning and loved literature. I’m not surprised she got her Ph.D in American literature because she connected in so many ways with writing. "While she was a student at Judge she submitted a poem that won a contest and she awarded by the Utah State Poetry Society," said Simpson. Sloan agreed with Simpson, saying Keri was one of the brightest students he ever taught and that she is a gifted writer. "She wrote like an adult when she was a teenager," he said. "I taught her English as a junior and she was an editor for the Bulldog Press. I also taught her in Honors American Literature. She was a gifted student who brought a lot to the classroom." "I learned from my experience at Judge, the higher the bar is set, the harder a student will work," Holt said. "The teachers at Judge set high standards for us and always challenged us never to be content with what we were. A lot of the teachers were very approachable and cared about their students; they were not intimidating. They were always very supportive of the students. I have tried to mirror my teaching strategies after them. I want the students to have fun while they are learning."
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