Front & Center: Iley Anne Baldwin

Published on Monday, October 28, 2024

By: Annie Oeth, aoeth@umc.edu

Photos By: Melanie Thortis/ UMMC Communications

When Iley Anne Baldwin entered the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Nursing, she was following the footsteps of her mother and grandmother, School of Nursing alumnae who went on to become UMMC nurses.

“I never thought in a million years that I would be a nurse,” said Baldwin, who joined the Air National Guard, 172^nd Airlift Wing, in Jackson at 17 following high school graduation and a semester at Mississippi State University.

The legacy of nursing in Baldwin’s family started with her grandmother, Florence Neely Cooper, at UMMC and continued with her mother, Jennifer Leigh Greer. When Baldwin, a cargo specialist who helped deploy and bring soldiers home, was looking for a new career journey, a visit to UMMC was the first step.

“I was still lost on what I wanted to do with my career when I returned from training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, and Fort Gregg Adams, Virginia,” Baldwin said. “I knew for a fact that I did not want to be a forklift driver on the civilian side. My mom took me to the UMMC educational office to talk about the possibility of attending nursing school. I went ahead and applied for UMMC. I will never forget the disbelief I felt when I got the email that I was accepted into the program.”

For Cooper, nursing was more than just a career; it was a lifelong dream. In 1973, after two years of college, she pursued her goal with determination. “I stopped by Dean (Christine) Oglevee's office without an appointment to inquire about entering the nursing program,” she said.

After graduating with distinction in 1977, Cooper spent four decades in nursing, primarily in perioperative care in circulating and scrub roles. She was a perioperative educator in the adult operating rooms at UMMC for the last 11 years of her career.

Seeing the next generations choose nursing as a career has been a source of pride for Cooper.

“I was delighted when my daughter, Jennifer, decided to go to nursing school at UMMC. She graduated in 2000 and later completed the family nurse practitioner program from there,” she said. “I was surprised and even more delighted when my granddaughter, Iley Anne, decided to attend nursing school. Her acceptance into the UMMC School of Nursing program was a huge event for all three of us.”

Cooper’s passion for nursing inspired her daughter, Jennifer Leigh Greer, who graduated from UMMC in 2000.

“I knew once I graduated from high school that I wanted to be a nurse like my mother,” Greer said.

With a family history of medical professionals—her grandfather, surgeon Dr. William Augustus Neely, established the UMMC trauma service, and her aunt, Dr. Leigh Neely, is an ophthalmologist—Greer said she has always felt a strong connection to the Medical Center. The Department of Surgery’s William A. Neely Library is named in his honor.

Starting her career in Labor and Delivery, Greer embraced the challenges and rewards of nursing. After eight years, she decided to expand her expertise and became a Family Nurse Practitioner, earning her MSN at UMMC in 2010.

“UMMC has made it possible to have a fulfilling career and take care of my family,” she said.

As a current student at UMMC, Baldwin is following in her family’s commitment to care.

Baldwin had to catch up on science prerequisites for the traditional BSN program.

“I believe the staff have seen my dedication for how much I worked to catch up on my school and how badly I wanted a career that focused on taking care of others,” she said.

Though courses at the School of Nursing have been challenging, “I have absolutely fallen in love with the UMMC BSN program,” she said. “I have met so many amazing teachers, friends and patients. All these people have made a positive impact on my future, and I can't wait to walk that stage in May 2026.”