Alumna of the Year

Holmes Community College will honor Candice Edwards Parish as the 2025 Alumna of the Year, the highest honor awarded by the Holmes Alumni Association. Parish will be formally recognized during the college’s annual Homecoming celebration, which brings together alumni, faculty, staff and students to commemorate the institution’s rich legacy.

A Holmes County native and 1996 graduate of Holmes, Parish has devoted more than two decades to nursing and community health. Her career spans emergency medicine, post-operative care, home health and geriatric services as a registered nurse, culminating in her current role as a family nurse practitioner with Premier Medical Group in Goodman and Kosciusko.

After earning her Associate of Arts from Holmes, Parish went on to complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1998 and a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 2019. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Parish has also been recognized for her athletic accomplishments in softball, basketball and track. In 2013, she was inducted into the Holmes Sports Hall of Fame, and in 2025, she was inducted into the Central Holmes Christian School Sports Hall of Fame, where she attended high school.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Parish is a committed community leader in Holmes County. After living and working in various parts of the country, she and her husband, Jason, chose to return home to work and raise their family. She serves on the boards of Central Holmes Christian School and Friends of Lexington Preservation (FOLP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to historic preservation and community revitalization. Parish also has a long history of mission work, including medical missions to Romania and Mexico, and she has led church retreats and volunteered with ministries supporting survivors of abuse.

Parish’s daughter Daynie, is currently on the Holmes Cheerleading team, and their son Gibson, is a 2025 Holmes alum.

“Candice Parish is a shining example of the Holmes spirit,” said the Alumni Association Executive Committee. “Her professional excellence, community service and commitment to the people of Holmes County embody everything this award stands for.”

The Alumna of the Year award is the most prestigious distinction given by the Holmes Alumni Association and is awarded annually to a graduate who exemplifies the college’s values through personal achievement, leadership and service.