Receiving her pin during Meridian Community College’s Practical Nursing pinning ceremony was a personal achievement for Kimberly Tyson, who has spent the past two decades as a stay-at-home mom and homeschool teacher to her five children.

“I have five kids, and they finally got a little bit older, and my youngest, she is 11, so my husband and I decided now is a good time for me to go back to school,” she said.

Tyson, 41, began MCC’s Practical Nursing Program earlier this year in January and was one of 21 graduates to receive their pins and certificates during separate pinning and commencement programs.

A Dean’s List scholar, Tyson was among four students honored as a Circle of Excellence recipient by MCC for her academic achievement, leadership, community service, and spirit.

Going back to school last January was a challenge for the Tyson family, with everyone having to make concessions and adjust to mom not being available at a moment’s notice.

“I definitely had to put my life on hold and everything this year while I went back to school,” she admitted. “It was a struggle to begin with, and there were a lot of tears shed toward the beginning.”

In talking with her husband of 21 years, James Tyson, she questioned if she had made the right choice.

“I kept telling my husband that I couldn’t do it, that I couldn’t make it, but he has been my biggest supporter,” she said. “My family and my husband have been my biggest supporters. They have not let me quit through this whole thing.”

Her mother, Donna Hill, also proved to be an invaluable resource.

“She has been one of my biggest supporters, too,” Tyson said. “There have been many times when I have come home from school, and she would have cooked supper for my family so I could go straight to studying. I would be lost without my mama.”

Tyson, a resident of Butler, Ala., initially enrolled in classes at an Alabama community college after high school and then applied for the Radiology Technology Program at MCC. She did not get into the Rad-Tech Program then.

Instead, she married her husband and started a family. Their five children came along in succession: Valerie, age 20; Kristina, 18; Johnathon, 16; Jordan, 14; and Alana, 11.

“We just decided I needed to stay at home back then,” she said.

But with her children now older and able to do their homeschool work online, she decided it was her turn to finish her education.

She began taking classes last year to meet the prerequisites for nursing school.

“I got to keep all of my college credits from 20 years ago, so with all of those credits and the classes I took last year, all I really needed to do was the Practical Nursing Program when I was accepted into the MCC program,” she said.

She also became a certified nursing assistant to see if she would like healthcare, working at a long-term care facility in Butler.

“I started doing that, and I absolutely loved it,” she said. “I like long-term care. That is probably going to be where I will end up working.”

She was very active in her one year on the MCC campus.

She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, the National Association of Licensed Practical Nurses, and the National Student Nurses’ Association.

She has worked clinical hours at the Free Clinic of Meridian. As a part of MCC’s My College Cares community service day, she helped clean toys at a local church and served food at Love’s Kitchen.

Tyson hopes to return to MCC in the fall of 2023 to study in the College’s Associate Degree Nursing Program.

While in the Practical Nursing Program, Tyson felt like Mother Hen to the other 20 graduates.

“I feel like I was the mom figure of the class. I was constantly getting on to the girls, telling them, ‘You are grounded. You have got to get this done,’” she laughed.

“They all call me either Pastor Kim or Mama Kim because they would ask me to pray over us for our tests and everything,” she added.

Tyson encourages other nontraditional students to give college a second chance.

“My advice is to do it and don’t feel like you can’t,” she said. “You can achieve your goals if you put your mind to it. I think as we get older, we feel like we have waited too long in our life to do it, but honestly, it is never too late.”