Every spring semester, Holmes Community College holds a special event, districtwide, called Freshman Friday. This day is designed to assist high school seniors with registration for summer and/or fall classes and give them a glimpse into life as a Holmes Bulldog. This year, Freshman Friday will be held on Friday, April 12 on the Ridgeland and Grenada campuses, and on Friday, April 19 on the Goodman Campus.
“Freshman Friday is one of my favorite days of the year,” said Holmes Grenada Campus Recruiter/Student Activities Coordinator Haley DeNoon. “It is so exciting to see new faces on campus eager to get plugged in and start their college journey. This day allows faculty and staff to be very intentional with helping the incoming freshmen set their goals and feel at home.”
During Freshman Friday, students have the opportunity to create their schedule for the upcoming semester, tour the campus, learn about opportunities to get involved, meet new friends and get free Holmes gear.
“Freshman Friday is by far one of our favorite events on campus,” said Wendy Grace, coordinator of academic programs on the Goodman Campus. “We usually have a range of 275-300 students in attendance (on the Goodman Campus) who we provide with one-on-one help with all their “first-time college” needs. Whether it is signing up for classes, looking at sample dorm rooms or checking out our clubs and organizations, it is always exciting to see how our campus comes together and is able to roll out the red carpet for these students. We truly want them to know what we already know…there truly is ‘No Place Like Holmes.’”
Taylor Carver of Grenada reflects on attending Freshman Friday as a high school student and how it impacted her.
“I remember my experience at Freshman Friday when I was in high school was very fun and even now as an Ambassador working it, I still find it quite exciting,” Carver said. “I remember thinking to myself that Holmes was very comfortable and homey and the perfect in-between from high school to a university.”
Across the district, Holmes students all seem to feel the same way about this special event and how it sets them up for success.
“It offers a great opportunity for the students to be able to see campus and sit down with their advisors and go over their academic/career tech pathway,” said Graham Lambert, a Ridgeland Ambassador from Canton. “They also get to meet other students they are going to go to school with. Freshman Friday is such a great event.”
Grenada Ambassador Radleigh Woods of Winona also said that Freshman Friday was immensely helpful to her as a high school student, allowing her to go ahead and schedule her classes and tour the campus.
“Freshman Friday really is such a great opportunity for students and will be very beneficial for those who attend,” Woods said.
Fellow Grenada student Baker Avant of Carrollton also reflected on how this event made a difference in his college preparation.
“As a student, Freshman Friday played an integral part in preparing me to attend Holmes,” Avant said. “It gave me the opportunity to meet my new classmates and instructors, make my schedule and have any questions I may have had answered. As an Ambassador, it gave me the opportunity to connect with new students and give them the assistance I received as a freshman.”
Goodman Ambassador Brent Zachery of Kosciusko also commented that “Freshman Friday not only gives students the opportunity to learn what their future may hold, but will also give them a clear understanding of how everything works at Holmes that will help them when making decisions in their college walk.”
Mary Patton Henderson of Kosciusko, a Holmes cheerleader, and the 2023 Homecoming Queen, is also excited about welcoming new faces to the Goodman Campus in April.
“I think Freshman Friday is a fun time for incoming freshmen and current students at Holmes alike,” Henderson said. “Connection, band, cheerleaders, Ambassadors and other Holmes student-organizations participate in this fun day, and it’s a good time to grow connections with future students.”
In addition to offering students the ability to earn an Associate of Arts degree, Associate of Applied Science degree, technical and career certificates and workforce training, Holmes also offers over 50 extracurricular activities, 10 athletic sports and a variety of student support services. Many of the students who attend as a senior are inspired to join the Holmes Ambassador team, as well as other student organizations on their respective campus, after seeing the impact they have on incoming students.
“I attended Holmes’ Freshman Friday in the spring of my senior year of high school and I was able to talk to professors, my advisor and a number of current students,” said Janey McRae, a Goodman Campus student from Winona. “It was a great way to meet new people and get guidance about my freshman year at Holmes. I was able to talk to Ambassadors at the event and I decided to apply and was selected as an Ambassador myself. I advise upcoming freshman to participate in the event because it opened many doors for me, and it made my first semester a great experience.”
Students interested in attending also have the ability to sign up for FastPass status ahead of time, allowing them to be in the fast track on the day of the event.
“When I attended Freshman Friday as a high school student, it was a very smooth process to becoming a college student,” said Ridgeland Ambassador Analise Johnson of Canton. “As an Ambassador, you can really see how important Freshman Friday is to so many new students who are trying to learn the ropes of college, and I think it helps ease their worries on the first day of school when they have already walked around campus and met many of the students and staff.”
Ridgeland Student Activities Coordinator/Recruiter Amanda Lindsey shares the sentiment that this is an amazing opportunity for seniors planning to come to Holmes, and an event that brings the whole campus together.
“Freshman Friday is one of my favorite registration events that the college hosts,” Lindsey said. “We help our incoming students check all of the registration boxes needed before they even graduate high school. All that’s left to do after attending a Freshman Friday event is to keep up the good work and enjoy their senior festivities. We can’t wait to welcome our incoming students to campus.”
For more information about Holmes’ Freshman Friday, visit https://holmescc.edu/registration/freshman-friday/.
