Nursing graduate from MSU-Meridian shines in early patient care
Contact: Marianne Todd
MERIDIAN, Miss.—Two months after earning a Master of Science in Nursing degree and becoming a Mississippi State University-Meridian graduate, Dekendrick Rushing stepped into a role few nurses face—caring for the mother of a faculty member from his alma mater.
Rushing, who is now a registered nurse at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, met Mary Smith, an MSU-Meridian assistant professor, during her mother’s stay at UMMC in 2025. Not knowing his backstory at the time, Smith said she observed Rushing’s “seasoned” delivery of skill, compassion and confidence following her mother’s neurosurgery, even though he was just three months into his new career.
“My mother was the one who asked where Dekendrick had graduated from because his level of care was exemplary. When he said he earned a Master of Science in Nursing, I knew immediately he had graduated from Mississippi State,” said Smith, a 30-year nurse who teaches in MSU-Meridian’s healthcare administration program. “Dekendrick was very patient and very detail oriented. It speaks so much of the program that he is so comfortable and confident.”
Rushing, who also holds a 2018 MSU bachelor’s degree in business administration, said, “I feel like God was leading me to this path.”
He entered the state’s first direct-entry MSN program in 2024 after taking a leap of faith and leaving his previous job. A year later, he was practice-ready.
Rushing and Smith, also an MSU alumnus, would discover they share not only an alma mater, but also a deep and abiding faith.
“Every patient that God puts in front of me, I know it’s for a reason,” Rushing said.
Smith agrees their pairing could have been divinely inspired.
“Not everyone has the talent or disposition to take care of older people, especially after surgery,” Smith said. “There is a lot involved, especially with listening to patients. He is in a highly stressful environment, working long shifts and sometimes with a large patient load.”
Rushing said MSU-Meridian’s School of Nursing prepared him well for work in the capital city’s busy neurology department at UMMC.
“Team building, leadership, professionalism, being driven, detail oriented, paying attention, good time management…you need all of those characteristics to even be in the program,” Rushing said.
Professor of Nursing Kayla Carr said Rushing represents the heart of the MSU School of Nursing.
“I’ll never forget Dekendrick’s admission interview,” Carr said. “He had this rich, professional background and an immediate effervescence. He brought all that to the classroom daily, even when the stress was high. He’s exactly where he needs to be.”
For more information about MSU-Meridian’s MSN program, visit www.nursing.msstate.edu.
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