School of Nursing at Mississippi College Awards 31 Diplomas

Mississippi College nursing graduates Bethany Hooker of Byram, Lindsey Marler of Carthage and Kris Bryant of Yazoo City were part of the Class of 2014 at spring commencement ceremonies at Swor Auditorium on May 9.

Stephanie Brislin is thrilled about getting the opportunity to begin her nursing career at the East Alabama Medical Center.

A member of the Class of 2014 at Mississippi College’s School of Nursing, Stephanie will go to work soon at the medical center’s emergency room in Auburn, Alabama.

Moments after new graduates, family members and friends exited Swor Auditorium at Friday’s spring commencement, Brislin felt blessed to receive her education at Baptist-affiliated MC. “The thing I liked the most were the small classes,” said the 26-year-old Ocean Spring resident. “I know everyone.”

What prompted her to go into the nursing profession?

“It was a God thing,” Brislin said as family members joined her for photos at a crowded Nelson Hall lobby. “I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

She was among 31 new MC nursing graduates on the Clinton campus.

A brightening economy around the USA is helping produce a rosier job picture for many nursing grads. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the average salary for a registered nurse nationwide in 2012 was $67,930. The highest salaries for nurses across the USA included positions with government agencies, hospitals and home health services.

On May 9, Brandon Holloway, 24, a Clinton resident earned his second degree from Mississippi College. He received a bachelor’s in chemistry in 2012 and added to it with a diploma in nursing.

“I thoroughly enjoyed myself,” said Holloway, a Clinton High graduate. “We made it through.”

Brandon is bound for a nursing position at the Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Offering their congratulations following the ceremonies were his parents, Brenda and David Holloway, both MC grads in the 1970s.

Another member of the Class of 2014, Kim Barnes of Vicksburg, will be working at the River Regional Medical Center in her hometown in Warren County. The Christian atmosphere on the MC campus plus the clinical experiences offered through the School of Nursing were things she cherishes the most about her education, Barnes said.

Other new MC grads landing jobs included Nicole Gibson, 21, of Wiggins, who will work at the emergency room at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson.

The guest speaker at Friday’s commencement was Sandra Robinson, who is retiring as an MC School of Nursing faculty member.

Mississippi College graduations continued Friday evening for the Graduate School and with two undergraduate ceremonies on Saturday May 10. The Mississippi College School of Law commencement will be Friday May 16 at First Baptist Church Jackson beginning at 10 a.m.