Dixie Tallman

The day I received my acceptance letter into nursing school was one of the happiest moments of my life, but the happiness somewhat faded after I started to see just how expensive the next two years were going to be. I was devastated to think that I would have to stop my educational journey because as a married mother of two with only my husband working, we just didn’t have the money to overcome this financial hurdle. With only a couple of weeks before the start of the semester and all of the tuition and fees coming due, I suddenly remembered someone in orientation saying something about tuition assistance through the Middle Georgia Consortium. I was hesitant, but hopeful, so I made the call to the Middle Georgia Consortium. This was the best call that I have ever made. I will never forget Mr. Darrell Stillings telling me that I could be helped with Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding. I couldn’t believe that it was possible to get this help and I will forever be grateful that it was available. Throughout the Consortium WIOA program, my tuition, books and supplies needed to through nursing school were paid for. I also received assistance to help with my gas on the days that I went to school or clinical. This helped me tremendously because I drove thousands of miles over the two years of nursing school. I have now graduated and passed the NCLEX and I have accepted a position as a Registered Nurse. I know that without the help from this WIOA program, I would not be a Registered Nurse and I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this dream that started so long ago. I am humbled and grateful to have had this WIOA assistance and I recommend the WIOA program to anyone needing the additional financial help. I am so happy that I made that call and finished this journey.