Students in the certified nursing assistant program at Francis Tuttle’s Rockwell campus practice CPR skills while instructors supervise and offer guidance on Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice)
By the time she graduated high school, Maggie Easter was a certified nursing assistant and had hands-on clinical experience without spending a dime on tuition.
Easter enrolled in a long-term care nursing program at an Oklahoma CareerTech center while attending an Oklahoma City-area high school with the hope of eventually earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing. As the daughter of a single mother, the 19-year-old said she was always worried about the cost of education.
“I was really scared to take out student loans after I graduated, and with this it has all been so fine,” she said. “They’re so financially supportive here. I’ve never taken out a loan or had any financial strain and I instantly got a job. I started working at Bethany Children’s Hospital as a senior in high school and now I’m becoming a (licensed practical nurse) for free. … To me, that stability was worth more than anything.”…