Hometown – Vicksburg, Mississippi
High school – River City Early College High School
Age – 17
Major – Nursing
You graduated from high school and Hinds Community College the same week? Yes. My high school was a dual-enrollment school. We did our ninth and tenth grade year with nothing but high school classes. It’s fast-paced, because you’re trying to fit all your high school classes in there. And then 11th to 12th grade, we took nothing but college classes. I was able to take all of my prerequisites for the nursing program. I have my Associate’s Degree and 72 hours of college credit.
What led you to choose nursing as your major? I’m a very realistic person, and I love people. I wanted to be where I can interact with people. That was my main thing. When COVID hit, I looked at all the jobs that shut down and the jobs that stayed open, and nurses were very short staffed. You’re always going to find a job. I get to help people, like I’ve always wanted to.
What led you to choose Delta State? We toured a bunch of a bunch of colleges, because we’re a college and career readiness high school. We took a bunch of trips to different colleges. We were required to at least go to three, and Delta State wasn’t on my top list. I just went because I needed another college, and my stepmom went there and she said it was a really pretty campus. When I stepped onto the campus, I immediately fell in love with it.
What extracurricular activities have you been involved with? I just work. That’s pretty much it. I work at Chick-Fil-A. I am getting a Chick-Fil-A scholarship for college, and I worked 20-25 hours a week during school so I could pay my car off a year early and not carry any debt with me into college.
What do you do in the little spare time you have? I hang out with my family. We play a lot of card games. We’re very competitive family. I love going outside with my dad and helping around the house. And I try to make room to hang out with my friends. That’s really about it.
Who are one or two people who’ve made a big impact on your life? My dad, Kevin Alford, and my stepmom, Linda Alford. My dad, I look at him as a role model because he’s a hard worker. He does everything all the way through. Nothing goes unfinished with him. And my step mom because, well, she basically taught me how to study. When I first came to her, I didn’t care about school. I was a “C” average student. I was just getting by. I was in elementary school, and then I made my first honor roll because of her.
