MSU-Meridian’s third MSN cohort moves through rite of passage in white coat ceremony
Contact: Marianne Todd
MERIDIAN, Miss.—Mississippi State’s largest Master of Science in Nursing cohort to date received white coats in a recent ceremony signifying the 46 students’ readiness for clinical training.
MSU Dean of Nursing Mary Stewart said she anticipates the MSU-Meridian program will increase enrollment to 60 with the 2027 cohort, bringing the program to its planned capacity alongside its launch of additional pathway options for post-licensed students. It is the state’s only prelicensure MSN program preparing students who hold bachelor’s degrees in other fields for licensure as registered nurses.
“At the core of nursing is a willingness to suffer with those who are suffering,” Stewart said to the advancing students. “Tangible health consequences result from being cared for and from caring for others. You will be entrusted to take care of people who need your help, and they will trust you to do rightly and to treat others as you would be treated.”
Before reciting the Pledge of Professionalism, the students were given Nightingale Lanterns, symbolizing the work of Florence Nightingale, which has become a symbol of knowledge, wisdom, clinical vigilance and compassionate care.
For AnneTaylor Mayatt of Philadelphia, who earned her bachelor’s degree in radiology from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 2022, the decision to pursue nursing at MSU-Meridian was influenced by her younger sister, Olivia Adams, who graduated in the program’s inaugural commencement in 2025.
“She absolutely loved the program,” Mayatt said of her sister, who now works in the Neuro ICU at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “She talked about the teachers and how helpful they were for her.”
Stewart thanked 2026 supporters including Marty and Linda Davidson, The White Family Foundation, The Riley Foundation, Bower Foundation, Vicksburg Medical Foundation, Mississippi Nurses Foundation, Mississippi Office of Nursing Workforce, among other donors, along with the program’s clinical partners, nurse mentors and community leaders.
Located in downtown Meridian, MSU’s School of Nursing is housed in the historic Deen Building and offers students direct access to leading regional healthcare systems. Through hands-on clinical experiences, team-based learning and training in a state-of-the-art interprofessional simulation center, students develop knowledge, skills and confidence to excel in today’s healthcare environment and become practice-ready nursing professionals.
Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters.