For people wanting to attend college but have children all it takes is a little COURAGE, mixed with a lot of HEART, which makes it all worth the SACRIFICE.
Graduating from high school while being a parent is one thing, but obtaining a degree from college while being a parent is another. Parents attending college has been a trend that has been in existence for many years but trends now are even higher.
According to Joshua Smith, a senior, Biology major a lot of respect should be given to parents that attend school. ” We don’t give parents at GSU enough credit a lot of times,” he said. Smith’s sister who is a pregnant senior that attends Xavier University in New Orleans has a sense of the hard work it takes to become a parent.
Being a mother or father at any university could be a pain. Dealing with long financial aid lines and paperwork, the stress from class, day care centers, and monetary disadvantages could sometime drive a person of that stature to quit.
Latrice Bayer a continuing Grambling student for the past six years was that person living that situation. “All of the stress of parenting school carried a heavy load on me.I would drop out and come back continuously,” she said.
Bayer’s parents were disappointed in her but most importantly she was disappointed in herself.
However, Bayer says she’s here to complete her dreams of obtaining a degree from college. “That’s is all I ever wanted was to have a bachelor degree, ” she said with a grin.
For Asha Williams, graduate student from Los Angeles, Calif., being a parent and attending college is not hard for her. ” I don’t ever think about giving up because I know I have to finish what I started in order to have a better life for my child,” she says.
According to Williams, her main goal is to to provide her childs needs and wants without having to worry about anything.