Pennington completes journey years in the making

For Amy Pennington, walking across the stage at Mississippi University for Women to receive her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, on Friday, May 8, was the culmination of a journey that began 20 years ago.

“I actually started here and then I got pregnant with twins, and they were preemies,” she said. “So, I was done with school for a while, and then I ended up being done with school for 20 years. I decided after they started college, that I would just go back and finish what I started.”

That decision didn’t come without its own unique set of challenges. Pennington still had her responsibilities as a mother as well as a student.

“I had one kid at Mississippi State and one kid at Alabama, so I had to find time to go see them and go do all the parent activities they have for each one of them on campus, as well as do all of my homework and do clinicals,” Pennington said. “That was a big challenge, but a lot less sleep, hard work and dedication were the only way we overcame it.”

On top of that, Pennington served on the Student Nurses Association board as community service chair. Community service is very important to Pennington, and being one of the “oldest” students in the nursing class, she sought to instill the importance of it in the younger generation.

Now that she has crossed the stage and received her degree, it is time for Pennington to shift her focus to her new career in the nursery at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle, a path that she never saw herself taking.

Since beginning nursing school, Pennington had her sights on the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). However, a chance placement in the nursery during her preceptorship shifted her perspective and opened her eyes to the possibility of working in the nursery.

“With ICU, I left every day and I was happy and felt fulfilled,” she said. “But there are a lot of really bad outcomes in the ICU. Even if you know that you did everything you can, there are just some situations that you know inevitably are going to end badly.

“All babies, when they’re born, the transition from the womb to the real world is really hard for them, and they are very critical for the first couple hours. I felt like working in the nursery, I got the challenge that I was receiving when I was in ICU with the critical patients. But every day, seeing births and seeing new babies come into this world, it just it makes you realize how amazing the human body is and how great God really is.”

Because of the quality education she received during her time in the BSN program at The W, Pennington has no doubt that she can face any challenge and overcome it.

“Our professors prepare us for everything. I mean, honestly, I think they prepared us for the apocalypse,” she said. “They’re amazing both within and beyond the academic scope of things.”

It was the dedication of one faculty member in particular which helped Pennington navigate a series of challenges during her senior year and ultimately overcome them.

Tabitha Pilkington, instructor of nursing, realized that Pennington was struggling and stepped in to help.

Pennington’s inspiration for pursuing nursing was her grandmother, a nurse herself. Her grandmother has since passed away.

“She has been my hero my whole life,” Pennington said. “This semester it was sinking in that I was graduating and that she’s not here to see it.”

The grief paired with stress from managing her other responsibilities, led to her failing a couple of tests. Pilkington knew that something was wrong and called her in to talk about it.

Together, they worked through it, and Pennington was soon back on track and graduated as planned.

Pilkington is impressed with Pennington’s perseverance and dedication to nursing, and looks forward to watching her blossom even more as a professional.

“Amy has been an exceptional student, both in the classroom and in clinical,” Pilkington said. “She has shown compassion, tenacity and dedication throughout her time at The W. She has grown into a confident and resilient nurse who will make a positive impact on her patients and colleagues. It has been a privilege to be her adviser this past year and watch her grow. She cares deeply for her patients and will be an amazing nurse. I cannot wait to see what all she will accomplish in the future.”

Pennington’s legacy at The W will continue, however, as her two daughters, Grayce and Lily, prepare to attend the same program their mom graduated from.

“I’m very proud that they are following in my footsteps,” Pennington said. “I’m very proud of them all of the time. They’re both really wonderful girls, and they will be great nurses.”