Challenges, solutions, advocacy boost success for student parents

Balancing the demands of motherhood and higher education presents a unique set of challenges for women pursuing academic success while raising children. I, for one, never thought I’d be navigating college and a pregnancy. As a freshman, my world shifted in an instant when I found out I was expecting. Walking around campus as an undergraduate with a growing belly was physically exhausting and, at times, emotionally overwhelming. I often felt out of place, as if I had somehow gotten off course while everyone else was moving forward on the path we were all supposed to be on. I could no longer participate in a lot of on‐campus clubs and organizations, all of the sports and social events. The fear that my dreams were slipping away haunted me daily. Would I even be able to finish school? How would I balance late‐night feedings with early‐morning lectures? I had no idea how I would make it work, but I knew giving up wasn’t an option.