Student Nurses Serve at the Mississippi Baptist Convention

President Blake Thompson visited with MC student nurses at the 2019 Mississippi Baptist Convention health fair on October 29.

Giving flu shots on the Clinton campus or working at a health fair, Mississippi College senior Tracy Metcalf discovered her calling in life as a nurse.

A Jackson mom with twin 11-year-old girls, Metcalf was among nearly two dozen MC nursing students volunteering Tuesday at the Mississippi Baptist Convention. The students offered advice to MBC visitors about proper nutrition, sleep requirements, along with vision and hearing needs. Flu shots and blood screenings were available as well.

Taking part at the October 29 health fair at First Baptist Church Jackson proved invaluable to Metcalf. The Memphis native appreciates the first-class training she receives at the MC School of Nursing.

“We have caring professors,” the Memphis native says. “There’s more personal connections with students,” she adds. “The Christian caring aspect is huge.”

On track to graduate in December, Tracy Metcalf will work as a full-time nurse at Baptist Hospital in Jackson after receiving her diploma.

Other student nurses enjoyed helping Baptist pastors, their spouses, church staffers and other guests at the MBC meetings.

“It’s a good opportunity to reach the population we normally don’t see,” says student nurse Hannah Carraway. At her table, the Brandon resident encouraged visitors to consider reading glasses as a way to see better.

For more than two decades, Mississippi College student nurses conducted health fairs at Mississippi Baptist Convention meetings in the capital city.

Joining them, nursing professor Deborah Bolian reports there were 22 graduating seniors offering assistance for several hours at the convention’s opening day.

Stopping by the health fair, MC President Blake Thompson tossed a football to a couple of student nurses for a few moments. He took time to speak with many of these future healthcare professionals.

There were plenty of people with MC connections taking part in convention activities. Student choirs from Mississippi College, Blue Mountain College and William Carey University teamed up to perform on stage. Their beautiful worship songs were well-received by hundreds of guests at the church sanctuary Tuesday morning.

Loaded with brochures, Mississippi College’s information table near one for the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary attracted a steady flow of foot traffic. Founded in 1826, MC is America’s second oldest Baptist College.

Business professor Billy Morehead, Wayne VanHorn, dean of the School of Christian Studies and the Arts, and Evan Lenow, the university’s new director of church and minister relations, made the rounds. So did staffers including Danny Rutland of the Office of Advancement and Chad Phillips of Alumni Affairs at Mississippi College.