On the desk in my office on the Raymond Campus is one piece of college memorabilia that is not “Hinds.” It’s a gorgeous glass candy dish – red, white and blue with the M in the middle for Ole Miss.

Next to graduation, covering the first day of a brand-new semester of classes is my favorite thing to do as Hinds public relations director.
There’s so much promise in that new start of classes. And I’m always impressed at the dedication of students and their reasons for going to college, especially at Hinds.
In a cold, driving rain on the first day of classes on the Rankin Campus I ran into a few of those dedicated students:

• A young mother with a double stroller carrying two children ages 18 months and eight months. When I saw her in the library, she was drenched in her  light clothes and flipflops but had the babies bundled up in jackets with blankets tucked around them for good measure.  She chose Hinds so she could finish her degree in licensed practical nursing at night so her husband could keep the little ones while she’s in class.
  
  

• A young man taking three online classes so he can work a full-time job as he continues toward a bachelor’s degree in psychology. 
• An older guy hoping to finish his criminal justice degree this semester so he can take that first step in a law enforcement career. 
• A late 20s St. Dominic’s nurse waiting in the book store line with her three-year-old daughter who was carrying her favorite doll. She wants to finish prerequisites to get into a bachelor’s of science in nursing program and further her career.

What all these students have in common is they chose Hinds’ Rankin Campus to help them achieve their goals. And they had to be dedicated to show up for the first day in that shivery cold rain!