The Legacy Bibi Built

This story originally appeared in the 2025 Aeolian magazine.

When Vivian (Bridges) Milton ’65 first enrolled at Georgia Southwestern, she had no idea she was starting a family tradition that would span three generations, multiple degrees and countless memories on and off the field. Her journey into nursing began almost on a whim. “One day she was in the student center and saw nursing students and thought their uniform was ‘cute,’ so she majored in nursing,” her daughter Michele (Milton) Ragsdale recalled. That decision launched a lifelong career in healthcare and inspired a legacy of education and athletics rooted at Georgia Southwestern.

Vivian’s connection to GSW wasn’t just academic. Her home near the baseball field meant that her children grew up very familiar with campus. “My sister and I spent countless hours riding our bikes in the college hills, walking around the lake and playing tennis on the tennis courts,” Michele said. They also took gymnastics lessons in the “old gym” and swam for the Americus Blue Tide in the Deriso Pool. GSW wasn’t just in the neighborhood; it was part of their everyday life.

Although she ultimately followed in her mother’s footsteps, Michele’s path to nursing wasn’t straightforward. “My first degree was in human resources, so I went back to nursing school after I got married,” she explained. Her mother encouraged her to take her own path. But a job as Dr. Gatewood Dudley’s office manager, the same physician who had assisted Vivian as she became a midwife, changed her mind. “He encouraged me to pursue nursing as he had also assisted my mom… he planted that seed.”

Adding to her BBA from GSW, Michele earned both her ASN and BSN in 1994. Today, she continues the tradition as an associate professor of nursing and ASN coordinator in GSW’s School of Nursing. “Continuing to work at a place that played a key role in my family’s story is an honor, and I am proud to work at the university where my mother began her journey to becoming a midwife,” she says. Michele lives in Americus with her husband and high school sweetheart Mike Ragsdale.

Her sister Missy took a different route, earning a BBA in 1989, a BSEd in 1993, and an EdS in 1995. It was at GSW that she met her future husband, Jamie Roland ’92, a Kappa Sigma, while she served as the Kappa Sigma Sweetheart. Both sisters were active on campus as members of Kappa Delta and residents of Duncan Hall.

“Our now husbands were in different fraternities… This made for some interesting banter at Sunday lunch after intramural championships,” Michele recalled.

Sports had always been part of the family. “My brother [Michael], sister and I were some of the first members of the Americus Blue Tide… I ran track, played softball and basketball in high school and played basketball at GSW for a season,” Michele said. Athletics remain a strong part of the family identity. Michele and Mike are Canes 360 members and have sponsored a baseball locker, while Missy and Jamie also support Canes 360. Vivian, affectionately known as “Bibi” to her grandchildren, was also a dedicated sports supporter. “Wherever the kids or grandkids were playing, she was there… She did not miss any sporting events until her health began to fail,” Michele remembered.

The family’s connection to GSW athletics deepened when Michele’s son, Reid Ragsdale, chose to attend GSW and play baseball. “Words to describe this are pride, thankful, gratitude,” she said. “We did not pressure Reid and wanted him to make his own decision… Looking back, I say God was working in the background because He knew Mom’s health was beginning to fail, and she got to do what she loved so much, which was watching her grandchild play the sport he loved and win one last championship.” Reid was part of the team that won GSW’s first-ever Peach Belt Conference regular season championship and tournament championship in 2023. Reid went on to earn his BBA in 2022 and MBA in 2023.

The family tree is filled with GSW degrees. Alongside Vivian’s ASN and their father John Milton's BS in 1968, the next generation includes Michele, Missy and Jamie. The tradition continues into the third generation with Reid, as well as Missy and Jamie’s son, Gabe Roland, who graduated with a BBA in accounting in 2025.

For Michele, carrying on her mother’s legacy is deeply personal. She remembers the first time she stepped onto an obstetrics floor. “I called my mom and told her I knew why she loved midwifery and that I wanted to be an obstetrical nurse,” she says. “I had the honor to work alongside her as she delivered babies. Seeing her in action was incredible. I wanted to be the daughter who made her proud and the nurse she trusted with her most critical patients.” Today, Michele continues to emulate her mother’s values: “hard work, consistency, independence, honesty and quiet strength… although [it's] hard for me to say my strength is always quiet.”

Although Missy and Michele grew up in Americus, they both chose to live on campus to experience college life fully, paying for their own dorm fees through hard work to avoid student loans. “Even when Reid [went to GSW], he did not live with us,” Michele says. “He got to enjoy his off-campus housing with teammates.” It’s part of the family’s belief in independence and the full college experience, values that Vivian championed throughout her life.

Vivian left more than a record of degrees and careers. She left a legacy of resilience, pride and a belief in the value of education. “We hope that people will see that GSW’s education led us… to incredible careers,” Michele says. For the Milton family, GSW isn’t just a place to earn a degree. It’s where traditions are built, values are strengthened and legacies are shaped, one generation at a time.