Genny’s Journey

VTSU Castleton grad talks about past struggles that led to current happiness

Genny Holder hiking with her husband Sam and her son Aeron.

Genevieve Holder transitioned from a strict, tiny Christian school in Germany to a chaotic, rowdy American school. As she navigated her unique upbringing, the 2023 VTSU Castleton graduate  discovered that the desire to fit in can lead to a suffocating fear of judgment and struggle for acceptance. 

However, underneath all anxiety and fear lies a strong woman who doesn’t let her insecurities determine her future. 

Holder, who goes by Genny, was born in Texas and then three years later moved to Wiesbaden, Germany. After her mother attempted homeschooling, she attended a private Christian K-12 school that had exactly 18 students, making her one of only two in her class. However, when she came back to the States, everything changed. 

She realized two things: kids are really rowdy and misbehaved, and that she was ahead of her class to the point of being bored and unable to pay attention in class. 

“I came here at the end of second grade, and they moved me to third grade,” she said. “I didn’t get along with my teacher because I was so far ahead academically, and I’m not saying that to brag I was just so bored, like I already know how to write cursive!” 

This made it very hard for her to adjust to her new school environment. It’s safe to say she had a complicated upbringing, and her schooling years were tough for her. 

Things got worse when she developed a severe case of Emetophobia, an extreme fear of vomiting. It all started in the lunchroom at her school when she was in elementary school. 

“One day I had a stomach bug and I went into the lunchroom and I ate lunch like normal and I ended up throwing up in front of the entire school,” she said. “The whole school ate lunch all at the same time and so I threw up like a huge puddle all over the floor in front of the entire school.” 

After this embarrassing moment, she became afraid to eat in front of anyone, which kicked off her eating disorder. She would have frequent panic attacks when simply going to a restaurant in fear of possibly throwing up in front of people again. 

It escalated to the point that her mother, Julie Eagan, was contacted by Holder’s principal about her refusing to eat lunch every day. 

“The principal called us and said, ‘Genny won’t eat and she needs to eat’ and they said someone’s going to have to come in and she was going have to be evaluated by a doctor,” Eagan said. “Me and my husband figured this would pass and she would get hungry eventually and that she’s fine. We had a hard time thinking there was anything wrong with her because no parent wants to think there’s something wrong with our child. We always hope for the best for our children.” 

This constant fear plagued Holder for many years of her life and while not as severe, it still affects her. 

“In high school, I was struggling with two main things: my eating disorder, and my sh**ty relationships,” she said. “I won’t give his name, but my first boyfriend was with me for a year and a half and in that time, being the same height I am now, I dropped down to 108 pounds and that was definitely not good. I had just got to a point where I didn’t wanna eat at all because I was so afraid of throwing up.” she said. “I would rather run a marathon, write an essay, be a tax accountant, anything other than throwing up. That’s how deathly afraid I was of it. I still do, to this day, but not as bad.” 

Her relationships didn’t help her in this difficult time. One was extremely controlling, another had mental issues of his own. She was cheated on, and one leaked revealing photos of her to social media simply because she didn’t answer his phone call. 

However, one past relationship she highlights the most is the one with her ex-husband, with whom she had her now 5-year-old son, Aeron. 

“We ended up getting married that summer because his grandmother was very close to passing because she had Alzheimer’s. It was really important for her to be there when he got married because she really wanted to see all her grandkids be married,” Holder said. “So, I said f**k it let’s just do it, let’s get married.” 

But she grew unhappy in this relationship over time, and it became obvious to her mother and other family members. 

Holder posing at graduation.

“I was always worried, but didn’t want to get into her business and push her away. It didn’t help that her ex-husband was very controlling and all of us saw it. She wanted to get married, and it was a spur of the moment thing. Her grandmother wanted them to do it, and they were just like why the F not,” Eagan said. 

After her ex-husband cheated on her, she was separated from him, but not officially divorced when she would meet Sam Holder. 

“So, I met this cowboy in Oklahoma, and on the outside of Christianity, I romanticized that life of wanting to be a wife that goes to church. I want to be a mom that raises her children in the church, like those women have everything they want and that’s probably not true for everyone, but I wanted that so bad and when I met Sam, it seemed like that was the family that he came from,” she said 

Sam Holder is a rugged comedian and has been a light for Holder in recent years as she discovers herself and where her life is going. Sam met Genny for the first time in person on April 15, 2020 after previously communicating through social media apps. 

“So, I was driving up, and I saw her get on Exit 18 and so we were on the phone while I was driving and I was like, ‘hey are you driving in front of me?’ and she says ‘yeah I think so.’ So it became this awkward thing where we were both awkwardly anticipating meeting each other,” Sam said. “I hugged her, gave her a kiss, and I was like, hey, do you wanna see me rope this sign, because obviously I brought my rope with me because there were so many cows up here to be herding.” 

She eventually attended Castleton University where she majored in psychology and graduated in 2023.

One night she was in the costume department of the Fine Arts Center when a student named Brandon Burmeister approached her about an acting opportunity. There are two versions of this project she is asked to star in: a play production, and a short film, both of which are crafted from the same script. 

“I was partnered up with Andrew Martell and we went over to basically find actors and actresses for our film. We managed to find Emerson Jolliff and Genny. And we met her down in the costume department of Castleton. We kinda talked basically and she said yes and she also got to do some of the costume stuff for our project so it was pretty pretty fun,” Burmeister said. 

She killed it in both versions of the project and she was then the easy option when looking for actresses in future film projects. Since then, Burmeister and Holder have become good friends attending many social gatherings, parties, as well as Sam’s comedy specials at local bars. 

In the summer and fall months, she works as an employee at the Great Escape. Based on the season, she gets to dress up as fictional characters and perform shows for children and she loves her job. 

Just this past Halloween she was in a show called “Caged,” where she had makeup on that made her look like a failed science experiment. The show was remarkable, and the dances were impressive. 

Another great friend of Holder is Rebeccah Jones. Ever since they were paired together in cheer tryouts they have been inseparable and have become like sisters. 

“We cheered together through high school and then we were close. We were always together during cheerleading and football games, and we would dorm with each other every year for cheer camp. So, I graduated high school, and we didn’t talk for a couple of years and after COVID, she messaged me and we got together to do a craft fair and then ever since we’ve been close,” Jones said. 

“Yeah, we’re at the point now where if she just shows up at my house I don’t think anything of it. We’re both really similar and we’re both really gift giving people and we’re always picking up little things for each other and we connect on a level that’s deeper than a normal friendship,” Holder said. 

Holder has been through a lot in her life and she has risen above every challenge thrown her way. She has even been considering whether to go to law school or go back and get her masters. Whatever she decides to do she’s going to take it head on and do great things as her life goes on. 

“You’re not gonna find yourself sitting on the couch at home. Just go out and do things, start making decisions. Yourself will find you eventually,” Holder said. 

Genny Holder and her best friend Rebeccah Jones.

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