The words engraved on a ring Maggie Brown received as a gift from her daughter, Mattie Brown, sum up the voyage the duo has taken that eventually led them to apply for nursing school at the same time.

“It says, ‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step,’” Maggie said, holding up the golden ring. “I think it’s perfect for us.”

After playing music for 35 years with several bands and going through a divorce, Maggie realized a steady career with benefits was what she needed.

A career in nursing, Maggie said, made sense.

“My mom had a lot of medical problems, so I spent a lot of time in the hospital as a child helping her,” said Maggie, a Natchez native. “It just feels comfortable to be in a hospital helping people.”

Maggie first went to the University of Southern Mississippi after graduating from Adams County Christian School in 2009, but she eventually left Hattiesburg to move back home and enroll at Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

Mattie Brown started her collegiate career wanting to be a psychologist, but ended up changing her major to nursing after taking an anatomy class.

Mother and daughter applied to Alcorn State University’s nursing program in the spring of 2012.

But only one got in.

“I got in, and she didn’t,” Maggie said, looking over at Mattie. “I was so upset and even felt guilty thinking that maybe if I gave up my spot, they would let her in.”

But Mattie knew that wasn’t an option.

“I would have told her not to do that,” Mattie said, smiling at her mother. “Of course I was upset, but I was also happy for my mom and decided I was going to keep going to school and try again later.”

As Maggie prepared for her first year of nursing school at Alcorn, Mattie reenrolled at Co-Lin and listened attentively to everything her mom would tell her about the ASU program.

“I learned so much about it just by getting to watch her go through it all first,” Mattie said, laughing. “So that was one good thing about it all.”

A few months later, Mattie reapplied to Alcorn’s program and spent a grueling four months waiting to hear back.

“I thought for sure I didn’t get in, so I actually applied to the same program at Co-Lin Wesson,” Mattie said. “I was on my way up to Wesson and found out I had gotten into Alcorn.

“I called Wesson and canceled my application.”

The news was equally exciting for Maggie.

“I was so relieved and happy for her,” Maggie said. “She’s my baby, so I was devastated when she didn’t get in the first time, but I always knew she would get there.”

As the mother and daughter sat together for the university’s orientation program — Maggie for her second year and Mattie for her first year —  they knew everything had happened for a reason.

“I don’t think we would have survived if we had both been in the program at the same time,” Maggie said, laughing. “For both of us to have been that stressed out at the same time would have been bad.”

Having someone who had been in her shoes less than a year ago was comforting for Mattie, who said she leaned on her mom for a lot of advice in her first year of nursing school and will likely continue to do so next year.

“She can tell me how I should study this concept, where to order my uniform from, how to dress for this class and all that stuff,” Mattie said. “She’s my best resource for information.”

The women have learned to lean on each other for support and guidance throughout their time at school, even if that’s rarely done in the same classroom or lab.

Because they are in different years of the program, Maggie and Mattie are hardly ever in the same room while on campus.

But that doesn’t stop Maggie from letting her inner mom shine through from time to time.

“I’ll be walking down the hallway, see her in the classroom and stick my head in to say hey to her,” Maggie said. “I had other students say to me that it would be weird for their mom to be in the same college as them, but it didn’t feel weird to me because we’re so close.”

Mattie echoed her mom’s sentiments saying the two are closer than ever now.

“It’s not embarrassing at all,” Mattie said. “We’ve always had each other, and we’re always going to be there for each other no matter what.”

As Maggie prepares for the nursing pinning ceremony Thursday at the university’s main campus in Lorman, she reassured Mattie she’ll still be there to offer words of wisdom — even without the occasional classroom sneak attack.