‘Hold it in the road’: Mayfield Jr. graduates, honors late father

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — Michael Mayfield Jr. graduated Tuesday with honors from the Associate Degree Nursing (ADN-RN) program at Holmes Community College in Grenada, Miss., and was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, keeping a promise to his father, the late Michael Mayfield Sr. to “Hold it in the road.”

Mayfield Jr., a Vicksburg native, said he plans to begin work as a charge nurse at the Shelby County Jail in Memphis, Tenn. He said his passion for correctional healthcare stems from more than a decade of experience in the field.

“I relocated to Southaven with my family six years ago, but I’ve been working in corrections for 13 years,” Mayfield said. “It’s not the location that’s significant—it’s the work. Corrections is a blessing to work in medically, because many offenders didn’t have access to healthcare before incarceration. There have been countless chronic diagnoses discovered while incarcerated—like diabetes, cancer, and kidney problems. It takes someone special to work in corrections, and that’s why I stuck with it.”

Mayfield said he hopes to return to Vicksburg more frequently to partner with city officials and health teams to host health fairs and raise awareness around chronic health conditions, particularly kidney disease and cancer.

Mayfield’s father, former Vicksburg Alderman Michael Mayfield Sr., died last year after a battle with pancreatic cancer. On Saturday, May 10, family and friends gathered at the Halls Ferry Park pavilion to celebrate what would have been the elder Mayfield’s birthday and to recognize Mayfield Jr.’s recent accomplishments.

The phrase “Hold it in the road.”—a saying often used by Mayfield Sr.—was on prominent display during the celebration over the weekend and also adorned the top of Mayfield Jr.’s graduation cap.

“I was living in Texas at the time and I would come home but often leave to head back to Texas late at night,” Mayfield Jr. said. “He would say I know at times a lot of traveling on the road is like life. You have to keep pushing even when it’s tough BUT make sure you ‘hold it in the road’ and be safe!”

Mayfield Jr. thanked the city of Vicksburg for coming out to the event in honor of his father.

“I would like to thank my mom, brother, sister, wife, kids, and family—but a big thanks to the city of Vicksburg for the love they showed my father,” he added. “It was beautiful to see they appreciated his hard work.”