Times Have Changed, But Pride Remains the Same

Sixty years is a long time, and the world has changed a lot. From landing on the moon to smartphones and now the dawn of artificial intelligence, the world looks a lot different than it did in 1967. But for Sharon Pearson, one thing hasn't changed at all, the pride she has for the training she received at Tulsa Tech.

"I kind of puff up with pride," she said, reflecting on a nursing career that began nearly six decades ago as part of Tulsa Tech's fourteenth practical nursing class. Back then, tuition was just $250, covered through a federal program designed to open doors for women entering the workforce. For Pearson, it opened a door to a life she refers to as nothing short of a calling.

"I tested for nursing school, but my math was deficient, and that is what led me to the Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) program," she said. "Back then, the opportunities for women in the workforce were limited to teaching, secretaries or nurses."

Getting there wasn't easy. Pearson's class started with 32 students; in a program she compares to basic training.

"It was very regimented, and if you missed a day of school, you really missed a lot," she said. "So, it was really important to be there every day. I had homework until 1:00 in the morning, and I think they did that purposely to weed out people that didn't have a heart for the whole program."

By graduation, the program housed at the former Lincoln Elementary School on the corner of 15th and Peoria Ave., had shrunk to 24, but for those who stayed, it built a foundation that would carry them for life. Those ladies continued to have yearly reunions for more than 50 years to celebrate the instructors and bonds that started here.

"This program gave me a wonderful career," she said with a smile. "Because if you love your job, you never really work. You've heard that term, and I love nursing."

That love carried her through more than four decades in the field, including 19 cumulative years at Oklahoma Methodist Manor, now Trinity Woods, and a decade with St. John Hospice, where she was the only licensed practical nurse on staff.

Looking back, she knows the training she received set the tone for all of it. "Our classes were high caliber," she said. "I'm assuming it's the same now, because your vision, the initial vision is still in place."

Currently, Tulsa Tech boasts a more the 90 percent pass rate on the NCLEX, the national exam needed to earn your LPN license.

That legacy hasn't stopped with her. It now runs through her own family. Her granddaughter is pursuing a bachelor's degree in nursing, and her son found a second calling as a respiratory therapist.

Nearly 60 years on, her message to the next generation is simple.

"If you love taking care of people, you never will have to work. It's a wonderful career, and there's so many places you can go."