Timothy Walley was a paramedic for 30 years before he decided to go in a different direction and enrolled in Meridian Community College’s Associate Degree Nursing program. On Friday, he was one of 32 students who received their accelerated ADN degrees during Meridian Community College’s spring commencements at the Evangel Temple.

“I set a goal for myself and here I am. It has been a journey. It was tough, but it was worth it,” said the 52-year-old Millry, Ala., resident who was asked to give the welcome to attendees at the ADN graduates’ pinning ceremony earlier Friday morning.

Walley said he was nervous to start the nursing program being an older student, but that everyone in the program was like family, lending support to one another.

Altogether, 84 ADN students were candidates for the pinning and graduation ceremonies. They were the 93rd class of ADN graduates to receive their pins since the program started in 1965, bringing the total number of new nurses to graduate from the MCC program since its founding to 5,927.

Friday was a day-long celebration with MCC hosting two commencements to recognize the graduates from its career and technical education, health education, nursing and university transfer programs. The Practical Nursing Program held a pinning ceremony for its graduates on Thursday afternoon.

“As president of Meridian Community College, I couldn’t be more proud of the graduates of the Class of 2023,” said Dr. Tom Huebner. “MCC has helped these graduates find their wings, providing them with the knowledge, skills, and support necessary to achieve great things.”

“Watching them spread their wings and take flight toward their dreams is the reason behind what we do,” he added.

During the afternoon university transfer program ceremony, Ali Grace Applebee and Jaylen Elijah Vance were announced as Phil Hardin Foundation Scholarship recipients and H.M. Ivy Scholarships were presented to Joel Parrish Linton, Madison Elise Moore and Garrett Bryan Riggs.

The Hardin Scholarships, which are $5,000 awards to each honoree, pay tribute to the life of businessman Phil Hardin and his philanthropic endeavors to support education, according to a MCC news release. The Phil Hardin Foundation funds the scholarships through the Meridian Community College Foundation.

Applebee and Vance are from Meridian and have a 4.0-grade point average on a 4.0 scale. Applebee is a member of the Phil Hardin Foundation Honors College, Baptist Student Union and Phi Theta Kappa academic honorary society. She plans to attend Mississippi State University and major in kinesiology, and her career goal is to work as a pediatric occupational therapist. Vance will be attending Mississippi College in the fall and has a career goal of becoming a dentist, possibly specializing in pediatric dentistry. He was named to the National Technical Honor Society and served as co-president of MCC’s PTK chapter. While at MCC, he received the Eddie Holladay, the Courtyard of Scholars, and the Evans Phi Theta Kappa scholarships, all funded through the MCC Foundation.

Dr. H.M. Ivy, the founding father of Meridian Community College, is remembered through the Ivy Scholarships. This year marks the 50th year for outstanding graduates to receive scholarships.

Each Ivy Scholarship recipient will receive $3,600 for their junior year of study and, if their academic excellence continues, will get another $3,600 for their senior year of study. These awards are based on academic excellence, extra-curricular participation, financial need and faculty appraisals. They are funded through an endowment established by the Phil Hardin Foundation.

Linton, from Meridian, plans to study business administration at Mississippi State University this fall. He is a member of the Phil Hardin Foundation Honors College, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Student Government Association, Baptist Student Union and PTK. Pursing a degree in elementary education, Moore will be attending MSU-Meridian and plans to continue her education to get a master’s degree in counseling. Moore, from Meridian, is a member of the Honors College, BSU, and co-vice president of PTK. A Hanceville, Ala., native, Riggs, will attend the University of Alabama-Huntsville to earn a degree in mechanical engineering and work for the Department of Defense. He also hopes to earn a degree in aerospace engineering.

During the ceremonies, 41 graduates were chosen as members of the Spring 2022 Circle of Excellence. The students, who studied in the college’s university transfer and career and technical education programs, were saluted for their academic achievement, leadership, community service and spirit.

Career and technical education students named to the Circle of Excellence included Mia Adams of Crystal Springs, Destiny Little of Ridgeland, Camryn Parten of Collinsville and Rod Senseney of Ocean Springs, all of the Associate Degree Nursing Program; Autym Brashier of Laurel and Brinnon Powell of Meridian, both from Dental Hygiene Technology; Samantha Howell of Stonewall, a Business Office Management Technology graduate; Samantha Olmedo of Walnut Grove, Reagan Reid of Bailey, Tylar Weaver of Carthage and Lesleigh Wallace of Collinsville, all graduates of Radiologic Technology; Kaitlyn Ralls of Laurel, of Respiratory Care Practitioner; and Anna Kate Touchstone of Enterprise, a graduate of Health Information Technology.

University transfer program students selected for Circle of Excellence were Griffin Atkinson, Ivan Betancourt, Matthew Bowling, William “Brett” Gordon, Jon Voss and Dylan Williams, all of Collinsville; Andrew Clayton and Jordan Miles, both of Lauderdale; Mason Doxey and Patrick Martin, both of Toomsuba; Mary Driskill of Starkville; Margaret Freeman, Piper Gonzalez, Lexie Henderson, Cohen Hurst, Joel Linton, Madison Moore, Jayla Vance, Jaylen Vance, Jayden Williams, Taylor Williams and Wynecia Willis, all of Meridian; Patrick Lyons of Vancleve; William McCullough of Wesson; Sadie Odom of Bailey; Dhilan Patel of Southhaven; Garrett B. Riggs of Hanceville, Ala.; and Christian Velazquez of Chunky.