On Her Drive, Compassion and Love for Service
When 2024 Miss UCA Kennedy Holland was an elementary school student, she took note when a friend in a wheelchair couldn’t access their school’s playground equipment. Since then, she has made it her mission to bring about change by informing area schools and communities about the need for inclusive playgrounds. This cause is the platform for her campaign educating and advocating for the implementation of accessible playground equipment statewide.
Holland was crowned Miss UCA 2024 on Nov. 12, 2023. A Greenwood native and sophomore communication major, she is on the pre-occupational therapy track with the goal of earning her doctoral degree in occupational therapy. She will be UCA’s 60th representative in the Miss Arkansas Competition in June.
Her drive for competition began when she was young and involved in 4H agriculture. “I started showing cattle at the county fair at four years old, and that very week I discovered the county fair pageant,” Holland said. “I asked my mom if I could enter, and she promptly told me ‘No.’ The next year I was just as interested and asked again, and she gave in. I was ecstatic because I won my age division! Unbeknownst to me, I was the only one in my age division, but that crown added fuel to the fire, and they haven’t been able to drag me off the stage since that moment,” said Holland.
Years later, she was ready for the Miss UCA Scholarship Competition. “I’ve been involved with the Miss Arkansas Scholarship Organization for several years, and I always knew I wanted to represent my university at Miss Arkansas,” Holland said. That winning moment at the Miss UCA Scholarship Competition brought her full circle from being the only one entered in her age category at the county fair years ago to representing an entire university at the state level.
“When I heard my name, I could physically feel the joy and excitement flow through my body. After the competition, the directors were kind enough to host a reception with 50 of my closest friends and family members. Seeing everyone that came to support me and being able to hug their necks meant the world to me–it’s a day I’ll never forget,” said Holland.
Holland volunteers her time and effort to multiple causes. She is involved in Alpha Sigma Alpha, Students of Pre-Occupational Therapy, StuMo, and the Public Relations Student Society of America. Prior to her collegiate career, she also founded a nonprofit organization, Compassion Legacy, an organization she started on her 16th birthday. This organization seeks to fund adaptive structures for playground equipment and raise awareness for equability for children with special needs.
Holland remembered, “I’ve always had a heart for kids with special needs. During COVID, I was taking a walk through a park when I stumbled upon a wheelchair-accessible swing set. It was at least 30 yards away from the rest of the playground equipment, the chains were rusted, the grass was growing around the structure, and the concrete sidewalk was cracked leading up to the swing. I started to think about all the accessible playground equipment I had ever seen, and I came to the conclusion that I had never seen any.”
She’s made it her mission to change that by bringing awareness and writing legislation that will mandate funding for accessible playgrounds across the state of Arkansas.
As one who actively looks for opportunities to give back, Holland credits her parents for inspiring her on that journey. “I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t actively involved in some form of service. It’s something my parents instilled in me from a very young age, and I genuinely enjoy volunteering in any capacity! People laugh because my idea of a romantic date is community service.”
Her love for the campus community shows in her enthusiasm for representing UCA at the Miss Arkansas Scholarship Competition. When asked what one word she would use to describe the community, she replied, “Warm. Everyone on campus, students, administrators, and professors, have warmly welcomed me. The buildings have a warm and rich history. Walking on campus gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. I have never been in a place where the people, conversations, encouragement, and atmosphere is so warm.”
As Miss UCA 2024, Holland wants to be “an effective ambassador for this campus. I want to be involved in philanthropies, campus events, athletic events–you name it, and I want to do it!” She wants her legacy at UCA “to be known as the Miss UCA who was compassionate and genuine. I want to be known as the girl who befriended everyone. I want to be known as Kennedy Holland, the girl who went on to great things but never forgot where she came from and who helped her achieve those dreams.”