How has Oklahoma's Promise impacted your life? Are you an Oklahoma's Promise scholarship recipient who has realized your goal of going to college? Has Oklahoma's Promise enabled you to pursue your dream career? Are you a parent who has enrolled a child in Oklahoma's Promise, helping put them on a solid path to college? Then we want to hear from you!
By sharing your stories, photos and/or videos, we hope to encourage other students to apply for Oklahoma’s Promise and start planning for their futures. Use the submission form below to Share Your Story. Thank you!
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Check out submitted stories from people like you who have been impacted by Oklahoma's Promise.
Oklahoma’s Promise has changed my life in more ways than one. From a young age, I was sure of two things. When I turned 18, I was going to become a registered voter for the state of Oklahoma, and I was going to continue my post-high school education. My two goals stemmed from my public education educators and mentors who showed me how important it is to be a part of something bigger than myself. Here is my story.
I am a first-generation, Mexican American college student from Cameron University located in southwest Oklahoma. My father received his high school diploma from the small town of Temple, Oklahoma, with plans for higher education that never came to be. My mother, an immigrant from Mexico, dropped out of high school at the age of 16.
Growing up, my parents did the best they could financially to support my siblings and me. I am the second youngest out of seven children. However, with college in mind, I knew where I wanted to go but not how to get there. I was introduced to Oklahoma’s Promise through my middle school. I applied for the program in eighth grade with no clue what tuition meant, just that it was expensive.
Flash forward to today. Oklahoma’s Promise made it possible for me to obtain not one but two degrees from my university. In May 2023, I received my Associate in Business Administration, which was imbedded within my bachelor program. In December 2023, I obtained my Bachelor of Business Administration from Cameron. Thanks to Oklahoma’s Promise, academic scholarships, Cameron’s work-study program and student organization fee waivers, I was able to graduate college debt-free. This is something I would not have thought possible had programs, such as Oklahoma’s Promise, and countless individuals not been available to me along the way.
Since graduating, the Oklahoma’s Promise impact continues. I am currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration at my university. I also get to spread awareness of higher education through campus tours with students from all over the state of Oklahoma and surrounding areas. Many of these students are stepping onto a college campus for the first time. Additionally, my passion to continue my work in human resources has fostered connections and opportunities to these very same students.
Thank you, Oklahoma’s Promise and legislation, for making dreams a reality.
The Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship has helped me take the time to get the most out of my high school career. Once I learned what Oklahoma’s Promise did for me in the future, I was able to relax and focus on my classes. My grades were never straight As, but they improved dramatically. Focusing in on my goal that a college education was in my grasp helped give me a confidence that I had lost through middle school. I was not financially stable, and my parents worked most of the time, so I was held completely responsible for my work. College got pushed out of my mind after seeing how much tuition was alone, not taking into consideration housing, food or even books. Scared of going to high school, I looked into a low-income group through TRiO. They asked if I had done my OK Promise paperwork, and I was confused. I quickly did it as I constantly reminded my mother that it needed to be sent in. Once it was approved, I began the most incredible years of high school. I got to know that I would go to college and become a teacher. The weight that was lifted was immense. I have felt a great joy in school that was not there before. This has been one of the greatest tools in guiding students to college.
Oklahoma’s Promise changed my life. Because of this program, I was able to attend the University of Oklahoma (OU) tuition-free.
I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism in 2011, and my college experience transformed my life and urged me to pursue a career in higher education to help other students like me. Since graduating from OU, I have completed a Master of Education from the University of Central Oklahoma and will be returning to OU in the fall to pursue a Ph.D. in higher education. I have spent the last six years of my life working in higher education at Oklahoma City University, planning new student orientation and working with freshman and transfer students.
College can be a life-changing experience, and it was for me. Not only did I learn who I was and gain the skills I needed to be a professional in my field, but my grandparents saw the first person ever in their family walk across a stage to receive a university diploma. This experience not only transformed me, but impacted the lives of my family. I was able to leave college debt-free, a gift I can never repay to the taxpayers of Oklahoma.
Thank you, Oklahoma’s Promise!
Growing up, it was my dream to go on to college to pursue medical school. As a little girl, all I knew was that I could go to school because that was a normal thing for kids to do, and I knew my parents didn’t have to pay for me to go to public school. However, as I grew older, I quickly began to realize that college was not like public schools. In fact, when I heard about this thing called tuition, I became discouraged because all that I could do was worry. How was I going to go to college? There was no way that a single mother of four could pay for her own daughter’s education. Would it even be possible to get to medical school? How was I going to do it?
Luckily, when I was in eighth grade, I heard about Oklahoma’s Promise and enrolled in the program. All I needed to do was meet the requirements and continue to work hard. I loved school so much that I kept a 4.0 GPA from elementary school through high school. I knew as I completed high school I would gain the opportunity to go to college to pursue my dreams. Meeting every requirement necessary and maintaining a 4.0 GPA, I was able to receive the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship as I started college. Without it, I wouldn’t be on my way to my junior year of college at the University of Oklahoma. I continue to work as hard as I can while maintaining two jobs. It may not be easy at times, but I can say that hard work will truly pay off at the end of the day.
For those worried about paying for college, I urge you to do some research and look into programs like Oklahoma’s Promise. There are so many resources available so that many can look forward to a bright future.
Thank you, Oklahoma’s Promise, for the opportunity in excellence and achievement. I was given hope when I thought there was none, and for that I am truly thankful.
