Many WVU student parents depend on support from Student Family Resources, a unit within Student Life, on their path to graduation. (WVU Photo/Brian Persinger)
Providing support to West Virginia University student parents working toward graduation is Student Family Resources, a unit within Student Life dedicated to helping students with families achieve their higher education goals.
“This is something that is definitely doable,” Alexandria Broadus, a University graduate from Hagerstown, Maryland, said of her completion of a social work degree with minors in psychology and addiction studies a year after giving birth to her son, Zeppelin.
“It’s not easy, but it’s doable and whenever I look at his little face, I’m just, like, ‘OK, I can continue to do this.’”
After finding out she was pregnant heading into her junior year, Broadus — who is also a member of the West Virginia National Guard — describes her pregnancy as being filled with worry about balancing parenting and school.
At times, she seriously considered suspending her studies, at least temporarily. That changed when she found out she qualified for much needed help with day care costs through Student Family Resources.
“Going into my senior year with a newborn, I had to figure out how I was going to cover a 400-hour internship and have him taken care of,” Broadus said. “Student Family Resources took off so much stress and helped me place my 4-month-old son in day care which allowed me to complete my studies and internship requirements.”
Since its inception, hundreds of University students who are parents have benefited from a variety programs and services offered through Student Family Resources to support retention, recruitment and wellness, as detailed on the unit’s newly relaunched website.
Those include support for day care, before- and after-school programs, drop-in coverage for holiday, school and summer breaks, and more.
“Our mission is to connect student parents to vital campus resources,” Program Coordinator Cindy Teets said. “Watching them achieve their dreams while raising a family is very rewarding. They are positive role models to their children, showing them all things can be accomplished with hard work and dedication. Their success is our success.”
Adekunle Ajiboye, an animal and nutritional sciences doctoral student in the WVU Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, has received much needed support from Student Family Resources.
“Managing school while taking care of 10-month-old twins during the day would have been too overwhelming,” Ajiboye, a Nigeria native, said. “Thanks to financial support from Student Family Resources, we were able to ease the burden by placing our children — Brian and Briana — in a quality day care.”
Bradford Davis, a medical student in the WVU School of Medicine, credits assistance from Student Family Resources with helping keep his education on track as his family grew and financial challenges mounted.
“My wife and I had planned and saved accordingly for our second child, but when we found out we were going to have twins, all those plans were immediately made insufficient,” Davis explained. “Further, complications during the pregnancy, multiple hospital admissions, then the actual delivery, the time lost from work and the hospital bills demolished most of our savings.”
His family qualified for day care assistance through Student Family Resources for all three children.
“This single, incredibly generous intervention drastically changed my experience at WVU. Without the added financial stressors, I was able to focus on my studies,” Davis said. “The assistance from WVU and Student Family Resources made continuing my studies possible.”
Many children of student parents attend the WVU Child Learning Center, in operation since 2009 and established to meet the child care needs of University students and employees with care for more than 200 newborn to preschool age children.
Assistance with child care extends to the Mountaineer KidZone, a flex-care center for children located in the Student Rec Center that offers safe and developmentally appropriate activities for children ages 6 weeks through 8 years.
In cooperation with Student Family Resources, the Women’s Resource Center maintains the WVU Lactation Network, which provides safe and accessible breastfeeding locations across campus.
Help is also available for students seeking quality babysitting services, affordable health care options, supplemental nutrition assistance programs, and mental health and well-being resources.
With the backing of Student Family Resources combined with her own focus and strong work ethic, Broadus walked across the Commencement stage in May with her son in the Coliseum stands.
“It’s something that I’m very grateful for,” Broadus said. “For me to have a college degree, it was something that I took a lot of pride in. A college degree is one thing that no one can take away from you.”
Hundreds more University graduates will join Broadus in becoming WVU Alumni following December Commencement. See the schedule.
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