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Holmes welcomes 14 new hires to the College
Holmes Community College recently welcomed 14 new hires to all three campuses. Those faculty and staff members include: Madeline Brewer, Reagan Dilmore, Shiquita Haralson, and David "Nathan" Hutchinson in Ridgeland; Tammy Caldwell, SFC Timothy Harper, Katrena D. Harris, Dustin Landry, and Scott Pitts, CPA, in Goodman, and Jennifer Brunson, Nettie A. Coggin, Amber Harrison, Patricia Nell Ray, and Julie Tipton in Grenada.
Ridgeland Campus
Madeline Brewer, an associate degree nursing instructor, is a native of Jackson. She earned her BSN from Mississippi College before working as a staff nurse for St. Dominic Hospital. Brewer recently obtained her MSN from William Carey University, and is certified in Advanced Cardiac Life, Support, Tuberculosis Skin Test, and Basic Life Support. Brewer's husband, Andrew, is the director of production for EdgeTheory in Ridgeland.
Reagan Dilmore, receptionist for the front office in Ridgeland Hall, was formerly employed with Delta State University in Cleveland where she served in a variety of capacities. She was the senior secretary and office manager for the university's police department from 2005-2007; the administrative assistant for the vice president of student affairs from 2008-2010, and the university apartment manager and administrative coordinator of university facilities and calendar from 2010-2014. She also earned her bachelor's degree from the university in 2008.
Prior to Delta State, Dilmore worked as a bank teller and customer service representative at Planters Bank and Trust in Ruleville for one year. She and her husband, Nic, now reside in Flowood with their 7-month-old son, Lawson.
Shiquita Haralson, the administrative assistant for the associate degree nursing program, is also a native of Jackson. Haralson is currently working on her associate's degree at Holmes, and has been on both the Dean's and President's List for her outstanding academic achievements. She is also a member of Phi Theta Kappa national honor society, and prior to her current position, served as a work-study student for the eLearning department. She is the daughter of Mary Haralson, who works in financial aid on the Ridgeland Campus. In her spare time, Haralson enjoys shopping.
Nathan Hutchinson, a welding instructor, is originally from Kosciusko. He earned his technical certificate in welding from the Holmes Goodman Campus in 2011. Prior to accepting the position at Holmes, he worked as a welder/fitter at Ivey Mechanical Company in Kosciusko for a year then as a welder/fitter at Taylor Machine Works, Inc., in Louisville for 3.5 years. Hutchinson's wife, Whitney, is a secretary at Scott Petroleum. He enjoys hunting, fishing, and following Mississippi State athletics.
Goodman Campus
Tammy Caldwell is a licensed practical nursing instructor and a native of Kosciusko. Prior to starting her position at Holmes, she worked as an RN at Holmes County Hospital and Clinics in Lexington for 14 years. A Holmes alumnus, Caldwell earned an associate of arts degree in pre-nursing in 1999, completed the licensed practical nursing program in 2001, and graduated with an associate degree of nursing in 2008. Upon graduating from Holmes, Caldwell earned a master of science in nursing education from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 2014.
She is certified in IVs, trauma nursing care, advanced cardiopulmonary life support, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Caldwell also holds the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Accreditation from the Institute of Higher Learning, and is certified in Quality and Safety Education for Nurses through the American Association of Colleges for Nursing.
SFC Timothy Harper, instructor for the new Magnolia GOLD program, has over 20 years of experience with the Mississippi National Guard. A Rankin County citizen, he enjoys spending time with his two children, parachuting with the Army, and basically anything outdoors. Prior to his current position, he served as an investigator with the Secretary of State. SFC Harper is playing a big role in implementing the Magnolia GOLD program at Holmes, and hopes to expand to the other campuses in the near future.
Katrena D. Harris, a criminal justice instructor, is a native of Montgomery, Alabama, and brings over 20 years of service as a 911 dispatcher to Holmes. She earned both a bachelor's and master's degree in criminal justice from Jackson State University, graduating Magna Cum Laude with her B.S. As a student at JSU, Harris had the opportunity to participate in the pilot Jackson Heart Study program for children and co-authored the scholastic article, "Knowledge and Perceptions about Clinical Trial Participation among African American and Caucasian College Students."
In addition to her position with Holmes, Harris is also on the ministerial staff at Pleasant Grove FGBC in Columbus. She and her husband, Roosevelt, have three adult children, one of which was just commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. In her spare time, Harris enjoys reading, helping others, traveling, and fishing. She is passionate about teaching and plans to pursue her PhD in legal studies in the near future.
Dustin Landry is the new defensive coordinator for the Bulldog Football Team. Prior to Holmes, he joined the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill football staff as a quality control assistant earlier in 2015. Landry served two seasons as an assistant coach at Troy University in Troy, Alabama, where he coached cornerbacks in 2013 and safeties in 2014. In 2014, he coached First-Team All-Sun Belt safety Montres Kitchens who led the league in interceptions and ranked seventh nationally.
Prior to his stint at Troy, Landry was the defensive coordinator at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, during the time they ranked No. 4 in the nation. Before making the move to Navarro, Landry spent the previous four seasons at Iowa State and Auburn as a graduate assistant and quality control specialist. Landry received his bachelor's degree in criminology and his master's degree in college administration from Auburn, then assisted with Auburn's linebackers in 2009 and the secondary during its national championship run in 2010.
Scott Pitts, CPA, an accounting and business instructor, is a native of Brandon. Prior to working at Holmes, he worked as a CPA specializing in tax preparation for individuals and businesses in the Ridgeland area. He holds an associate degree from Jones County Junior College and a bachelor's and master's degree from The University of Southern Mississippi. In his free time, he enjoys reading and watching football. Pitts and his wife Leslie, a sonographer at Jackson Heart Clinic, have two daughters: Aubrie, 10, and Kate, 7.
Grenada Campus
Jennifer Brunson, a business and accounting instructor, is a native of Grenada. Prior to coming to Holmes, she worked as a workforce management support specialist. She earned both her master's and bachelor's degrees from Delta State University upon finishing two years at Holmes. In her spare time, she enjoys collecting pottery and singing. Brunson and her husband, Alex – owner of Grenada Cabinets – have a one-year-old daughter, Hallie.
Nettie A. Coggin is an instructor of maintenance technology and precision machining technology in the maintenance technology program. This program prepares individuals to work in a variety of roles including, but not limited to, industrial maintenance and engineering support positions. Prior to accepting this position, she served as a senior maintenance technician. Coggin attended the University of Mississippi after completing an associate of science degree at Southwestern College in 1990.
Amber Harrison, a native of Grenada, is an English instructor. She received her associate of arts degree in secondary education from Holmes before earning both a bachelor's and master's in English education from Delta State University. Harrison has six years of teaching English on both the high school and collegiate level. From 2009-2014, she was an English teacher at Grenada High School, and in 2011, presented at the Mississippi Council of Teachers of English (MCTE) Conference at Delta State on the problems facing English teachers in the K-12 classroom.
Prior to becoming a full-time instructor, Harrison served as an adjunct instructor at Holmes for three years; two teaching English, and one teaching remedial reading. Additionally, she completed training in education abroad with Education First Educational Tours in Rome, Italy, in 2014. In her free time, Harrison enjoys traveling, reading, and exercising.
Patricia Nell Ray, an associate degree nursing (ADN) instructor, previously served as an RN in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Grenada Lake Medical Center and at Tri-Lakes Medical Center in Batesville. She earned her ADN from Holmes in 2010, followed by her BSN and MSN from William Carey University in 2012 and 2013, respectively. She also earned a specialized associate degree in respiratory therapy from Flagler Career Institute in Jacksonville, Florida. Ray is not only a registered nurse and registered respiratory therapist, she is also certified as an AHA Healthcare Provider in CPR, and in advanced cardiac life support.
She and her husband, Ronald, have five children: Michael Koufonikos, 28, in the U.S. Army; Sarah Koufonikos, 26, a BSN student at Mississippi University for Women; Celivia Ray, 18; Summer Ray, 16, and Sharon Ray, 14. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau nursing honor society, has served as a Girl Scout Leader, a Boy Scout Leader, a member of the Mississippi National Guard, and was the first female in Mississippi to earn a Future Farmers of America (FFA) State Farmer degree. In her spare time, she enjoys cross stitching, sewing, swimming, and the outdoors in general.
Julie Tipton, another associate degree nursing (ADN) instructor, previously worked as a registered nurse at Greenwood Leflore Hospital and at Sta-Home Health and Hospice. She earned her associates degree from Holmes, her SN from Delta State University, and is currently working on a graduate degree from Jacksonville University. Tipton earned the highest overall grade point average as a nursing student at Delta State; received the award for Most Outstanding Junior and Most Outstanding Senior at DSU; served as both vice president and president of DSU's Student Nurse Association, was a member of Sigma Theta Tau, and was an ambassador and vice president of Phi Theta Kappa honor society as a student at Holmes.
Tipton is certified in basic life support, advanced cardiac life support, neonatal resuscitation, and fetal heart monitoring. Her hobbies include reading, shopping, spending time with friends and family, and serving as a youth director at The Pentecostals of Grenada. Tipton and her husband, David, have three children; Cooper, 7, Anna, 5, and Ava, 2.
IN THE PHOTO: 14 new faculty and staff members who recently joined the Holmes Community College family. Row 1, Ridgeland Campus (left to right): Madeline Brewer, Reagan Dilmore, Shiquita Haralson, and Nathan Hutchinson; Row 2, Goodman: Tammy Caldwell, SFC Timothy Harper, Katrena D. Harris, Dustin Landry, and Scott Pitts, and Row 3, Grenada: Jennifer Brunson, Nettie A. Coggin, Amber Harrison, Patricia Nell Ray, and Julie Tipton.
