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Madison couple engaged while attending Holmes Jacob and Ryan Black
Holmes Community College graduates Ryan ('09) and Jacob ('08) Black met in the summer of 2007 on the Goodman Campus.
Ryan was working for the Academic Dean in Goodman the summer before her freshman year when she first met Jacob. Jacob was on campus for summer football workouts plus a campus job as well. Ryan delivered some papers to Leslie Spell's office which is the recruiting office where Jacob was that morning as he was also involved in student government on campus.
A mutual friend introduced them that morning and they both never forgot about each other. They were both dating someone else at the time. By the spring semester they were both in Sociology together and doing campus tours together. They started dating February of 2008 and have been together ever since.
Jacob is from McCool and completed the Pre-Law curriculum at Holmes. He is currently the executive deputy director for programs at the Mississippi Department of Human Services. He grew up in a small town and was not ready for a big school so he chose Holmes as it gave him the opportunity to play football and stay in the small setting.
Ryan is from Lexington and earned a Pre-Physical Therapy degree from Holmes. She is currently working for the Orchard in Ridgeland as a physical therapist. She was not ready for a four year university so when she toured Holmes she felt comfortable and the Goodman Campus was close to home. Ryan also liked that the classes at Holmes would be smaller and the teachers would be more helpful.
Physical Science with Jim Shirley was Jacob's favorite class as it gave him the opportunity to help him in his career.
"Every action has an equal reaction," Jacob said. "When you look at big agencies like the Department of Human Services such a small reaction can make a big difference and affect those actions of the people we serve."
Ryan said, her favorite class was physics with Shirley who was also her advisor. She enjoyed his classes and her time she spent talking with him about her future.
"Mr. Shirley was the reason I chose physical therapy," Ryan said.
Both Ryan and Jacob agreed that their most memorable moment at Holmes was meeting each other. They are now married with two boys and reside in Madison.
