Future Looks Bright for Mississippi College Class of 2016

MC School of Nursing graduate Nikki Crew of Florence.She's pictured outside Nelson hall following the May 6 spring commencement.

Nikki Crew decided to pursue a nursing career after needing medical care just a few years ago.

“I know what it’s like to be a patient,” Nikki said minutes after receiving her nursing degree at Mississippi College’s Swor Auditorium. “I was really sick in high school.”

On May 6, the Florence resident graduated the School of Nursing with a perfect 4.0 average. The Summa Cum Laude graduate gives much of the credit to a dedicated team of professors to help her succeed in the classroom and in clinical rotations.

What’s next for Nikki Crew? A full-time job at the Baptist Hospital cardiology floor in Jackson awaits her.

America’s nursing profession looks exceedingly bright for the Class of 2016. More than three million nurses should be employed nationwide later this year, a healthy job growth rate of 23 percent.

Nursing grads Kaitlin Rea Nowell of Madison and Sarah-Kate Rowan of Clinton are both entering the profession landing their dream jobs. Part of an MC graduating class of three dozen nursing students Friday, the Mississippi College friends are expected to work in pediatrics at a Jackson hospital.

Some new alums of the Christian university will take their career goals across state lines. Nursing graduate Kiana Boric of Jackson is going to Texas to take a position in pediatrics-intensive care. Saying goodbye to sweet friends and caring faculty at the School of Nursing on the Clinton campus will be hard. “I loved it – they are like family to me.”

A job at the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital will be the next stop for nursing graduate Kristin Barnes of Madison. Sharing her joy was her 5-year-old daughter Kayliegh, who held festive balloons celebrating the occasion outside Nelson Hall.

As Mississippi College marks its 190^th anniversary, the Class of 2016 heads to a variety of challenges.

MC grad Shelby Grant Gilliam of Clinton will soon attend Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson to pursue a master’s in divinity. He’s also accepted a position as youth intern director at First Presbyterian Church in Crystal Springs. Capping off a busy summer, Shelby is getting married, too. His wedding will be in July.

Shelby received a nice send-off at Saturday’s graduation at the A.E. Wood Coliseum. Offering their congrats at the Choctaws basketball arena were loads of friends along with his parents, MC continuing education director Ken Gilliam, and his wife, Vicki, a Clinton attorney. Going into the ministry seems to be a good fit. The Clintonian wrapped up duties in May as leader of the Student Government Association’s Christian Development office.

As visitors captured the moment with hundreds of photos on cell phones, there were numerous success stories standing out. Among them: Shelby Swede of Olive Branch graduated Magna Cum Laude in biology/medical science. Shelby is embarking on plans to pursue medical school.

Saturday’s keynote speaker, Mississippi Baptist Convention leader Jim Futral encouraged his audience at the coliseum to keep an optimistic spirit, and accomplish great things to make the world a better place. “God has offered you a blessing,” he told the graduates. “Be the best at who you are. Let God use you.”