Starlings create Foundation scholarship for CHS graduates

Special to The Canton News 

Derek Starling, a past president of the Holmes Community College Alumni Association, and his wife, Daphenia, are establishing a scholarship at Holmes CC to return what the college provided to their whole family.

Starling, his mother Alma (who completed some continuing education classes), his brother Dwayne (’84) and sister Dianna (‘80) all attended Holmes and say they are grateful to Holmes for jump-starting their success in life. The whole Starling family is from Madison County, which is one of the college’s nine-county districts.

A graduate of Canton High School, Starling came to Holmes as a student athlete. He played men’s varsity basketball under Coach Bennie Kimble from 1984-1986.

During Starling’s time as a Bulldog, he was team captain, named to the All-Region 23 Team, MJCAA All-State and chosen to play in the MJCAA All-Star game. Other accolades he received included the Academic Award, the Sportsmanship Award, the Ras Branch Award and the Bulldog Award.

Upon graduation from Holmes, he attended Mississippi State University and earned his bachelor’s in industrial and systems engineering with a minor in mathematics. He is now the owner and principal of SOL Engineering Services, headquartered in Jackson.

Some of Starling’s accomplishments include Small Business Administration’s Mississippi Business Person of the Year (2015); serving on the Canton School Board for seventeen years, eight of which he served as chairman; MSU Department of Industrial and System Engineering Advisory Board member (2018-present); inducted as a Fellow into the Society of American Military Engineers (2022) and lifetime member of the Holmes Alumni Association.

In 2017, he was inducted into the Holmes Sports Hall of Fame for his basketball accomplishments, then, in 2022, he was recognized the Holmes Alumni Association as Alumnus of the Year.

The Starling family is excited about helping students at Holmes through this scholarship. The Daphenia and Derek Starling Family Scholarship will be for a graduate of Canton High School majoring in a STEM field. The student must be enrolled full-time and maintain a 2.5 grade point average.”

“We wanted to do a scholarship, because Holmes invested into me with a scholarship that allowed me to afford college,” Starling said.  “My scholarship was the beginning of my preparation for lifelong learning, and we want to give other deserving students that same opportunity.