by: AJ Sauerhage
Parenting is by no means an easy feat. I mean, you’re taking care of a small human and are supposed to try your best to lead them on a good path, that’s a lot of pressure. College is also tough with the deadlines, tests, and homework. I personally cannot imagine being a parent in college and have immense respect for those who manage to do it. September is National Parent Student Month and we at SIU have our own brave souls who have stepped up for the challenge and offered their advice.
Time is a big issue for many parents and students. Kids need to be picked up at different times, students need to find time to study, they both may have conflicting extra-curricular schedules, and children require a lot of attention and time to develop properly. Our own Charles Edwards, an English Education major, veteran, and father of three says, “I would say the hardest part really is dealing with the kids’ schedules”.
Another issue many people may overlook with balancing schooling and having children is that children get sick, and some get sick a lot. Niyona Branch, a Social Work major and founder of the RSO Leaders and Litters, talks about how she has had to miss quite a few classes because of her child falling sick. She said that since she couldn’t bring her child to daycare, she found herself having to take the little one to some of her classes. In response to being asked if her professors are accommodating with her challenges with the child, she said, “Some of them, yeah. The others, no, I’m missing a lot of points because I wasn’t there”.
Luckily, SIU and Carbondale have quite a few resources that help student parents. Niyona said that Saluki HEROs and getting her child into a daycare had helped a bunch. Despite the challenges that come with it, the students are still more than happy with their decisions to become parents and students.
Charles Edwards’s advice for students in similar was “Once your focus are done and you’re walking across that stage, I guarantee you won’t think about those moments. I’ll be worth it in the end.” Niyona Branch, when asked what advice she would give said, “no matter how ready you think you are, like to have a kid, I feel like nobody is truly ready until a baby actually comes”.
Parenting is extremely difficult, rewarding, and full of ups and downs. What these students must juggle is commendable, brave, and a feat that not many could do, yet here they are. They have the integrity and compassion that Saluki’s should want to, and be proud to embody.
