Ryan Holmes
As a child, Ryan Holmes decided early on that he would become a dentist But, the University of Mississippi graduate’s choice changed during a summer internship for Dungan Engineering.
“I realized that I wanted to follow in my father’s steps and become a civil engineer,” said the Columbia native. “It was very hard work, but I grew a deep appreciation for all aspects of the engineering field.”
Driven by his dreams, Holmes landed a job as a branch manager of Dungan’s Brookhaven office in 2007. Several promotions later, he is a principal engineer and vice president for the firm.
“We moved to Brookhaven without an office, staff or clients,” Holmes said. “Today, our office has grown significantly into one of the largest firms in southwest Mississippi. I currently oversee all phases of projects, scheduling, business development and client management.”
Jeff Dungan, the firm’s co-founder and principal engineer, said he knew right away that Holmes had great potential and leadership ability.
“Ryan puts his heart and soul into any engineering project that he undertakes,” Dungan said. “He has done an incredible job of cementing our firm’s presence in Brookhaven through his character, work ethic and dedication to improving the conditions within his community.”
Holmes’ family was not Ole Miss-friendly, but young love and generous financial aid packages soon convinced him that Rebel country was the place for him.
“As I began dating my wife (the former Whitney Wallace of Columbia), she and her parents introduced me to Ole Miss,” he said. “We visited the campus and attended sporting events. The dean of students at Pearl River Community College encouraged me to follow my dreams and helped open doors for many scholarship opportunities at Ole Miss. Soon, I grew to love Ole Miss and everything it stands for.”
Holmes said he found the smaller classroom sizes within the engineering school allowed him to develop closer relationships with professors.
“As my adviser, Dr. Alexander Cheng (formerly chair and professor of civil engineering, now School of Engineering dean) was always available to discuss any issues that I had and gave me great advice to achieve my goals,” Holmes said. “I enjoyed Dr. Ahmed Al-Ostaz (Brevard Family chair and professor of civil engineering) and his Structural Analysis class the most. As the ASCE faculty sponsor, he aggressively pushed our chapter and expected exceptional results.”
Holmes said he also enjoyed the senior design class taught my Chris Mullen, professor of civil engineering.
“The class entailed designing a project that utilized the skills we had learned from all of our classes,” he said. “Dr. Mullen made it challenging, yet fun at the same time.”
As a student, Holmes was involved with student affairs and organizations within the School of Engineering. He received both the Outstanding Senior Award and the Student Service Award for Civil Engineering before graduating in 2004.
“Our professors emphasized leadership and provided many classes to build these skills,” he said. “This also gave me the leadership skills needed to become the engineer I wanted to be. As a result, I later passed the professional engineering exam and am now very involved with many organizations improving the community in which we live.”
Among his many projects with Dungan over the years, Holmes said his most rewarding is his most recent: the design and development of a state-of-the-art sports complex in Brookhaven.
“After many years of discussing the idea, our firm was finally given the opportunity to work with local officials to develop this facility,” Holmes said. “We had one year in which to design and build the sports complex. There were several hurdles to overcome with permits, local politics and dealing with drought during construction, followed by above-average rainfall.”
Stull, Holmes and his team completed the project on time and within budget.
“On opening day, I felt a sense of pride as I saw smiles beaming from both children and parents,” he said. “The children in our community were given a complex they so deserved, and I was blessed to have been a part of it.”
Holmes’ brother-in-law, Brooks Wallace, is also a principal engineer and vice president of Dungan. Founder and CEO of DebrisTech (a rising firm in the debris removal and management industry), Wallace manages the Picayune office and often works with Holmes on projects for both firms.
“Ryan and I have both taken the same career path with Dungan,” Wallace said. “As one of my partners, I know that he is always willing to take on any task that may be needed to help DebrisTech be successful. Often, this includes making last-minute changes of plans to hop on a plane in order to make a meeting, deliver a proposal or spending a week or more in a disaster area, looking for ways to help communities recover.”
Holmes said his long-term goals include building more partnerships and volunteering more in his community.
“Networking is the critical path to career growth,” he said. “The more relationships formed, the more opportunities. I want to communicate more effectively and develop long-time relationships with my clients.”
Holmes said he lives by the “work hard, play hard” philosophy.
“I take work very seriously,” Holmes said. “I feel like my clients deserve the best experience and the best engineering available, no matter the size of the project.”
Holmes and his wife are the parents of two children, Collin and Carley, and have a baby due Dec. 31. His parents, Bennie and Linda Holmes, still reside in Columbia. A sister, Carmen Holmes Duncan, rounds out the family tree. He and his family enjoy being outdoors and traveling.
A proud Ole Miss alumnus, Holmes joined the Woods Order soon after graduation.
“Contributing to the university that gave me so much just felt natural,” Holmes said. “I received large scholarships and I wanted to make sure other students have the same opportunity I did.”