Forsythe named 51³Ō¹Ļās inaugural Master of Science in Nursing Outstanding Graduate
Contact: Marianne Todd
MERIDIAN, Miss.ā51³Ō¹Ļās first Master of Science in Nursing graduation means more than receiving a degree for Heather Forsythe. Itās her comeback story.
Forsythe, who initially studied nursing more than 15 years ago, will graduate with the inaugural MSN cohort this Thursday [Aug. 7] summa cum laude. She is being recognized as the inaugural Outstanding Graduate honoree in 51³Ō¹Ļās School of Nursing.
The Brandon resident, who has made the 160-mile round trip to 51³Ō¹Ļ-Meridian to attend school each day since entering the program last fall, first graduated from Meridian Community Collegeās nursing program in 2008. However, difficult life changes and the sudden prospect of being a single mother to an infant led Forsythe to recognize the timing wasnāt right for her to complete the credentials to become a registered nurse.
āI was going through a lot of stress and anxiety, but in 2011 the Mississippi Board of Nursing said I could sit for the LPN board,ā she said. āI did and worked at Bedford Care Center in Newton for a year and a half.ā
When her son turned 3, she enrolled at 51³Ō¹Ļ. In 2014, she earned her bachelorās degree in elementary education and worked at Forest Elementary School before transferring to Rankin County Schools. She remarried, gave birth to a daughter, and spent the next 10 years teaching.
Then last year, something out of the ordinary happened.
āI think it was God,ā she said. āI think God pulled me here. I started getting these little postcards out of nowhere from different places for nursing programs, LPN to RN. Since I hadnāt even been looking, I thought it was kind of crazy.ā
When her mother-in-law told her about the new MSN program in Meridian, Forsythe jumped at the prospect.
āI felt this was it,ā she said. āItās been a lot of hard work, but before this, I had sold myself short. I prepared myself for this, and Iāve put everything into it.ā
As she began the program, her determination pushed her through her grandmotherās death last fall, a car wreck this spring that left her in excruciating pain and her fatherās unexpected death.
Forsythe is the model case for the value of an accelerated MSN program, said Kayla Carr, professor of nursing.
āHeather remained teachable, curious and diligent throughout the program and is well-respected by her peers and faculty,ā Carr said. āWeāre honored to have her represent the 51³Ō¹Ļ School of Nursing as she heads into the Meridian nursing workforce.ā
After taking the NCLEX in September, Forsythe plans to begin her career at Ochsner Rush Health, where she has accepted a position in the hospitalās intensive care unit.
For more information about 51³Ō¹Ļās MSN program, visit .
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