Author: Mary Margaret Busby

Holmes Community College 2017 alumna Payton Earley of Brandon recently found out that she has been chosen for a coveted spot in the Disney College Program at the Walt Disney World Resort. Earley is currently a junior journalism major at Belhaven University and she will move to Orlando, Florida, on Jan. 22 to begin her semester-long internship.

At 27 years old, you expect life changes to occur as you near the end of one decade and look forward to the next. For some, those changes include marriage, birth of a child, job promotions or building a house. For Heather Wood, a mathematics instructor on the Holmes Community College Grenada Campus, it was being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Three Holmes Community College students – Ashlee Bennett of Grenada, Johnna Davis of Flora and Hallie Westbrook of Pickens – were chosen for the new Get2College intern scholarship program in partnership with Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK). These three ladies are all members of Phi Theta Kappa chapters; Bennett on the Holmes Grenada Campus, Davis on the Ridgeland Campus and Westbrook in Goodman.

Holmes Community College has been ranked the #2 best community college in the United States in terms of “Best Value” by AffordableCollegesOnline.org (ACO), a leader in higher education information, resources and rankings. The college was ranked for standing out in both quality and affordability.

The Holmes Community College Attala Center has implemented a program called MI-BEST (Mississippi Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training) which is an accelerated approach to the instruction of skills training and workplace preparation. There is no cost for tuition for students who qualify for this program.

On Tuesday, Oct. 3, and Wednesday, Oct. 4, the Mississippi Animal Rescue League (MARL) brought puppies to the Holmes Community College Ridgeland Campus and as a result, three were adopted.

The Holmes Community College Phi Theta Kappa Alpha Lambda Sigma Chapter is holding an Embryo Adoption Awareness Event at the D.P. “Pat” McGowan Workforce Training Center in Ridgeland on Thursday, Oct. 19 from 6-8 p.m. Dr. John D. Isaacs Jr., a reproductive endocrinologist, will present the medical aspects of embryo adoption and Ashley Pittman, J.D, LL.M, an attorney, will present the legal aspects of embryo adoption.

Sonja Arnett, an English instructor on the Goodman Campus, has been named Holmes Community College’s 2017 Humanities Teacher of the Year.

The 40 Holmes Community College Ridgeland Campus freshmen Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) students participated in the 19th Annual St. Dominic Senior Wellness Fest on Sept. 22. Held at Mississippi Trade Mart in downtown Jackson, the annual event is one of Mississippi’s largest senior events of the year.

Alumni of Holmes Community College’s electric linemen program employed with various electric companies are putting their skills to good use in the wake of the recent hurricanes. Although Holmes instructors feel certain that there are other graduates aiding in the relief efforts, there are – for certain – five former students working in Texas and one in Florida.