For her 24^th birthday Ruby Holmes bought herself a skydiving trip.  She had previously hiked Mount Kilimanjaro, bungee jumped in South Africa off and kayaked in crocodile infested waters, and this was just one more adventure to add to her list.  She wasn’t nervous about the jump.  In the plane, she was strapped between the legs of her guide and once they reached they reached the right altitude, they scooted towards the door and jumped.

            “They don’t really give you time to get too scared,” said Holmes. “Its weird, you’re going so fast you almost don’t even feel like you’re moving. Your perception is kind of skewed. Then, when the parachute opens it just super peaceful.”

             Just two years after graduating from the University of Oregon with a degree in International Studies with a focus in Human Rights, Holmes found her ideal career as an assistant events coordinator for Mobility International USA, or MIUSA, an organization dedicated to helping people with disabilities all around the world gain leadership skills to help their local communities. This position helps Holmes link her interest in human right and her love of international cultures that makes a visible difference. Even in high school, Holmes spent her summers traveling to underdeveloped nations on service trips with a high school club. She is passionate about helping other just as much as she is about adventure.

            Bundled in warm clothes due to the flu that forced her to end her workday early, Ruby Holmes’ eyes light up as she at her kitchen table in her Eugene home and talks about her travels abroad to India, Brazil and multiple countries in Africa, as well as her experiences while working with Mobility International USA. At first glance, Holmes’ fiery, red hair and high, child-like voice fill the room, but her energy radiates when she begins talking about Tanzania, where she studied abroad during college.

            “Tanzers!” says Holmes.  During her time there, she immersed herself in Swahili while volunteering at a preschool. “They called it teaching, but other than teaching them English numbers, I taught them Ring Around the Rosy,” said Holmes. “I just called it playing.”  

            Immediately following graduating from the University of Oregon, Holmes began searching for an internship.  She landed a summer internship with MIUSA and, after it ended, begged founder and CEO Susan Sygall for any paid position. Since then she has worked her way up to full time, and last March she became a permanent staff member AS A WHAT? 

            Holmes works directly with the men and women whom MIUSA flies to Eugene from all over the world.  She helps group members organize their time and activities, which include time with their host families and workshops for job and leadership training. Sometimes her job requires her to be on call for 24 hours a day for up to a month at a time.

            Holmes’ love for helping others reaches further than her work with MIUSA. “She is one of the most passionate people I know,” said Evan Bosch, A former coworker and friends with HOlmes for more than five years. “All the work she takes on is because she really cares about the issues, and she is so funny and nice, what’s not to like about her?”

            In high school, Holmes’ said her mother told her that she could only plan so much and that life is crazy and things change.  This advice has stayed with her as her plans for herself have steered off track since graduation. 

            “I am in a constant battle with myself… I need to get out of my comfort zone,” says Holmes.  “My biggest regret would have to be if I never took off a chunk of time to travel.” After graduation she wanted to travel the world, and especially visit the Philippines where her parents met while in the Peace Corps. Then she planned to go to grad school. But as her mother told her, life doesn’t follow plans.  Holmes has no regrets about the decisions she has made in her life.

            “I love my job; I love getting up in the morning and going to work,” says Holmes. “I love my coworkers, the positive change it has in the community, MIUSA’s mission and everyone’s passion.”

            One of her goals in life, is to start a family. She wants to adopt at least one child. “I want a little African baby,” says Holmes. “I want a little African baby and a little ginger baby.” 

            She credits moving from her hometown of Denver, Colorado and leaving behind her parents and two older brothers to study in Oregon as a major turning point in her life.  Establishing a new life in a city where she knew only one other person forced her into maturity, but she eventually wants to return to Denver, settle down, and be closer to her family. 

            “I love life, I love my job, I love knowing I’m making a positive impact,” says Holmes.