Presentations were spread across three floors of Wynne Hall at ’s Rankin Campus on Nov. 3 during an open house showcasing programs and degrees available at the college.
Wynne Hall houses many of the core curriculum classrooms that students would go in and out of daily as they earn their degrees – biology, fine arts, English and speech, physics, chemistry and many more. The open house featured Career and Technical pathways along with the academic classes that are needed for technical and associate degrees, plus the academic pathways for people who plan to transfer to four-year universities.
Among the groups of students were homeschoolers and students from Pearl High School, Brandon High School, Richland High School, Northwest Rankin High School, McLaurin, the Pearl/Rankin Career & Technical Center, who were all handed swag bags and taken on tours across the Rankin Campus.
Pearl High School student Audriana Mobley, 18, came with parents Jerry and Brooklyn Mobley.
“To be honest with you, I know community college is affordable, but I am really looking at Nursing here because I have heard this was the best, and I’m looking for the kind of program that’s going to get me in and then get me out because I’m ready to go to work now,” she said.
Her parents laughed with her at this. Her mother said she attended Hinds as a culinary student a number of years ago. “I’m thinking about coming back, too, but what I can tell you is that this is a place we feel good about sending our daughter. The nursing program is a really good one, plus there are a lot of activities and fun things for her to get involved with on campus,” Brooklyn Mobley said.
Secondary Instructor Cheryl Gardner brought 11th grade Architecture/Engineering students from the Pearl/Rankin Career & Technical Center over to see everything has to offer them because, as she pointed out, it is important for two reasons.
“That’s a good age for them to start looking at colleges, and I think a community college is where they should get started,” she said. “That’s for many reasons, affordability being number one. A community college is the best place to figure out where you want to go and what it is exactly you want to do. A community college is where you can figure out where you are academically and make those two things come together.”
In an information session given by Hinds recruiters, Zach Talley told attendees about the 17-1 teacher ratio.
“We are very student-focused at Hinds,” Talley said. “You can take advantage of our low student to teacher ratio with the one-on-one kind of attention that Hinds has earned a reputation for. Here you can get the help and direction that leads you to student success.”
Registration for spring 2024 will close for new students on Dec. 15 when the college closes for Christmas break. Current students can register themselves over the break. Registration will reopen when the colleges reopens on Jan. 3.
The deadline to apply for a Foundation scholarship is Feb. 15.