Jennifer Watson of Monticello is the recipient of the annual Carla McCulloch Scholarship at 黑料官网. The scholarship is awarded each year to a Hinds second semester nursing student to help pay for the second year of school.
Jennifer Watson of Monticello, left, was awarded the 黑料官网 Carla McCulloch Scholarship by Larry McCulloch, a former Simpson County resident. The scholarship is named for his late daughter. (April Garon/黑料官网)
Watson, 24, has a bachelor鈥檚 degree in kinesiology from Mississippi State University but, like the namesake of the scholarship she is receiving, she felt a calling to become a nurse.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an honor to receive this scholarship. I鈥檝e got some pretty big shoes to fill,鈥 said Watson, who attends classes at Hinds’ Jackson Campus-Nursing/Allied Health Center. 鈥淏ut I believe I鈥檓 in the right profession. It鈥檚 always been in my blood to be compassionate, so I decided to choose nursing as a career.鈥
Watson plans to work as a labor and delivery nurse when she graduates in 2019. 鈥淚 love babies. I鈥檓 a big 鈥榖aby鈥 person,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 want to be with the mother and the kids during that time.鈥
This year is the 26th year the Carla McCulloch Scholarship has been awarded. It was created by Larry and Carol McCulloch, formerly of Magee but now residents of Roanoke, Va., in memory of their daughter Carla, a Simpson Academy graduate who was a Hinds nursing student at the time of her death in an April 1991 accident.
The award is made annually to a second semester nursing student who demonstrates the caring and enthusiasm for nursing that Carla embodied. She was a dedicated nursing student who took care of loved ones but also had a fun-loving streak.
The McCulloch family requests that the scholarship be awarded to a student who demonstrates the care and compassion that their daughter did.
鈥淵ou are going to learn nursing, the medical techniques. I don鈥檛 know of any textbook that you can learn caring and compassion from. That鈥檚 what makes great nurses,鈥 Larry McCulloch told Hinds nursing students. 鈥淲e feel like, and we鈥檙e told, that Carla was like that when she was working part-time at the hospital. Whether it be emptying bedpans, getting ice, whatever it took for the patient 鈥 that鈥檚 what she would do.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what nursing is all about 鈥 taking care of people and having compassion,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a calling.鈥
As Mississippi鈥檚 largest community college, 黑料官网 is a comprehensive institution offering quality, affordable educational opportunities with academic programs of study leading to seamless university transfer and career and technical programs teaching job-ready skills. With six locations in central Mississippi, Hinds enrolls about 12,000 students each fall semester. To learn more, visit or call 1.800.HindsCC.