While he began his career on the acting stage, Alan Rigdon now hopes to find the spotlight in an emergency room after graduating from Meridian Community College’s Associate Degree Nursing Program.

“I like being involved in the physical care of people, and I like to work to make things better,” Rigdon said of what draws him to the nursing field.

He was one of 41 ADN students who received their associate of applied science degrees during fall commencement exercises.

A Dean’s List scholar and member of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, Rigdon was one of four graduates honored as Circle of Excellence recipients. MCC’s Circle of Excellence honorees are chosen based on their academic achievement, leadership, community service, and spirit.

“It is an incredible honor to be selected as a Circle of Excellence recipient,” Rigdon said. “I know my parents, my wife, and my daughters are very proud.”

While he has worked as a student nurse for the past year and a half in several hospital settings, Rigdon is still trying to plan his next move with a preference for a critical care nursing job in a hospital emergency department or ICU.

He has enrolled in Mississippi College’s online RN to BSN program and hopes to earn his bachelor’s degree in nursing in a year. After that, he plans to pursue his master’s degree and become a nurse practitioner.

Rigdon first attended Meridian Community College 17 years ago after graduating from West Lauderdale High School in 2005.

“I did Encore and Dimensions and a lot of the performing groups then,” he said of his two years at the College. “I never graduated with a degree then because I didn’t really know what I wanted to do.”

After leaving MCC, he tried a career in the entertainment industry. He performed in many plays, acted in a few short films, and worked as an extra on some film sets.

“I have done a lot of very different things,” he joked.

In 2010, he met his wife, Jennifer, who now teaches Spanish at Northwest Junior High School and Magnolia Middle School. He is a stepdad to three daughters; Cindy Sanchoyerto, Lyanne Pinon, and Ashley Pinon.

“I met her here at a ballroom dancing studio,” he said of his wife. “She was teaching salsa at the dance studio, and I was teaching the waltz, rumba, fox trot, and a lot of other stuff. We were instructors together.”

In 2012, the family moved to Miami, where his in-laws lived.

Rigdon worked at Best Buy for several years while he earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Florida International University, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and was a member of Tau Sigma Honor Society.

After Ashley, the youngest daughter, was diagnosed with lupus, the family began spending much more time in healthcare settings.

Rigdon became drawn to the medical field.

“My daughter was diagnosed with lupus about five or six years ago,” he said. “Never having worked in the medical field before and kind of being thrust into it by her diagnosis kind of gave me a different perspective on it, and it interested me.”

He had been accepted into the University of Miami’s accelerated nursing program with plans to start in May 2020, but then the Covid-19 pandemic hit. He lost his job with Best Buy, so the family moved back to Meridian, where he was accepted into the MCC ADN nursing program in January 2021.

“I wanted to get into the medical field, and nursing seemed like the quickest route since I already had my bachelor’s degree,” he said.

Being a non-traditional student and one of only a few males in the nursing program did not dampen his enthusiasm.

“I was one of the older ones in my group, and it was interesting to be back in the mix with a lot of younger people,” Rigdon laughed. “Otherwise, I enjoyed my experience. I had a different perspective with the age. I think it gave me a different outlook on things.”

Rigdon credits his supportive family with helping him achieve his goal of becoming a nurse.

“I really couldn’t have done it without the support of my wife. It would have been totally impossible without her,” he said. “I think that is really the only way I had the confidence to go back to school. She is the one who made it seem real to me. I really owe it all to her.”