Concordia University Texas nursing student follows mother's footsteps

AUSTIN, Texas - 23-year-old Katelyn Nutt knew from a young age she wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a nurse.

"From a very young age, my mom has been a nurse. She actually was in nursing school while she was pregnant with me. And so, I like to say that 20 years ago, I went to nursing school," jokingly says Katelyn Nutt, Concordia University Texas graduate.

Katelyn says seeing her mom's dedication to care for others inspired her to go to Concordia University Texas to get her nursing degree.

"I think that just like visiting her as a child and seeing what nursing was from that perspective all the way through graduating has just been really powerful," says Nutt.

But it wasn't easy for Katelyn.

At the age of 18 she became a young mother.

"Whenever I first made the decision to do nursing school, I really didn't know what it was going to look like. I knew that it was going to be a lot of commitment. But knowing that my kids need me around, I was a little bit scared," says Nutt.

Concordia partnered with Capital IDEA back in 2022, to help students like Katelyn finish their degree.

"We offer as an organization is tuition service, tuition assistance, wraparound services. And then the team that I lead, we call them career navigators. They're our secret sauce. They help our students through their academic preparation, connect to other resources in the community, but also help them advocate for themselves to others so they can make satisfactory progress toward their goals," says Capital IDEA program manager, William Askew.

In addition to paying for school, Capital IDEA also covered all other fees, including nursing equipment, books and even childcare. Without the financial stress, Katelyn  says she was able to finish her degree.

"Some of the faculty here at Concordia, they are moms. And so even in our lectures, they would talk about, you know, their struggles and being mothers and working all the time and still also having a family," says Nutt.

Katelyn is graduating this on December 15 and she hopes to start as an ICU nurse in February.