Nikita Lenahan always knew she wanted to work in early childhood education. What she wasn’t sure about was how she would pay for her education. She decided to pursue her passion, but she had to rely on student loans through college.
In 2022, she opened her own nature-based childcare program called Bambino University, in Proctorsville, Vermont. Her program was thriving and Lenahan was doing work that she loved, but the financial stress of her student debt — which she said was about $35,000 — weighed heavily on her.
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Then she got an email about a state program that would repay student loans for early educators who worked in Vermont. She applied and…