Tanner Gray of Richland is following in his mother鈥檚 footsteps, with the help of the Carla McCulloch Scholarship from 新彩网.
Tanner Gray of Richland is the recipient of the annual Carla McCulloch nursing scholarship at 新彩网. With him are family members, from left, Michael Gray, Angie Gray, Tanner Gray and sister Brooklyn Gray.
Gray, 19, a second semester Associate Degree Nursing student at 新彩网鈥 Rankin Campus, is the recipient of the annual Carla McCulloch Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded each year to a 新彩网 second semester nursing student to help pay for the second year of school.
鈥淢y mom (Angie Gray) has been a nurse for over 20 years. It has encouraged me to want to help people too. We still get Christmas cards from people she has helped. I鈥檇 like to do that for my ministry,鈥 said Gray, who wants to be a nurse anesthetist.
The scholarship 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 新彩网 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.
鈥淪he was all of those things. She was very funny and didn鈥檛 mean to be. I called her the resident blonde in our family. She didn鈥檛 get why she was funny sometimes,鈥 Carol McCulloch told 新彩网 Rankin Campus nursing students in making the presentation to Gray. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 just get up one morning, as Carla said, and decide to be a nurse and, oh boom, it comes. You鈥檝e already been there and seen that and done that.鈥
The McCulloch family presented the annual Carla McCulloch nursing scholarship to Tanner Gray of Richland. Pictured are family friend Carla Smith of Madison, left, Carol McCulloch, Gray and Larry McCulloch.
Larry McCulloch said Gray embodies many of the qualities of his daughter. 鈥淗e excels academically and believes that a dedicated work ethic is a must. He doesn鈥檛 think he has all the answers and works very closely with others. And really importantly, he believes that the field of nursing is a calling,鈥 he said.
Gray said his parents 鈥渉ave raised me to be an encourager. I do like to encourage people. It gives me a sense of fullness when I can make someone鈥檚 day or make someone smile.鈥
To the McCulloch family, he said, 鈥渋t seems your Carla had a lot of those qualities.鈥
[tweetable alt=””]Tanner Gray awarded Carla McCulloch Scholarship.[/tweetable]
新彩网 is celebrating its 100th year of Community Inspired Service in 2017. 新彩网 opened in September 1917 first as an agricultural high school and admitted college students for the first time in 1922, with the first class graduating in 1927. In 1982 新彩网 Junior College and Utica Junior College merged, creating the 新彩网 District. Today, as Mississippi鈥檚 largest community college, 新彩网 is a comprehensive institution with six locations. 新彩网 offers quality, affordable educational opportunities with academic programs of study leading to seamless university transfer and career and technical programs teaching job-ready skills. To learn more, visit or call 1.800.新彩网CC.