MCC’s Dr. Ida Holliday inspires first-gen students with her journey
When Dr. Ida Holliday came up to the microphone at Meridian Community College’s First-Generation Celebration, she shared her story as a girl from the east side of Meridian who once doubted college was even possible.
Today’s she’s an MCC nursing instructor and a first-generation college graduate herself.
“I never saw a clear road to higher education,” she told the audience. “College wasn’t something we really talked about. But somewhere deep inside, I always felt that God had placed something in me that would not let me settle.”
Her presentation, “From Poverty to Professor to Purpose,” blended faith and honesty as she described growing up in a family of six children, her parents’ hard work to provide for them, and her determination to create a different path.
After graduating from Meridian High School in 2001, Holliday enrolled at Meridian Community College, where she earned her associate degree in nursing in 2004. “I was learning to believe in myself while learning to trust God through the process,” she said.
From MCC, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees before completing her Ph.D. in healthcare administration and education at William Carey University in 2022. Her daughters watched as she crossed the stage as one of only seven graduates in the program’s inaugural class.
Dr. Holliday told students her academic and professional success didn’t come without hardship that included long work hours, single parenthood, and the loss of loved ones. “There were nights I came home exhausted and said, ‘Lord, I can’t do this on my own,’” she said. “And every single time, He gave me enough strength for that day.”
Dr. Holliday encouraged them to see their struggles as part of their story, not the end of it.
“You may be the first, but you don’t have to be the last,” she told the audience. “You are breaking cycles. You are opening doors for generations that will come after you.”
The event was part of MCC’s First-Generation College Celebration Week, recognizing students who are the first in their families to pursue higher education.
Dr. Holliday added, “One day, you’ll look back and realize that every tear, every late night, every prayer — it all had purpose.”
For more information, visit meridiancc.edu.