This mom takes her 9-year-old to college. How MSU Denver supports students who are parents.

Students in Professor Jason Jordan s communications module at Metropolitan State University of Denver were learning how to take ethnographic field notes Seated at a desk next to his mom -year-old Nolan Kersey leaned in and whispered What s ethnography Mariyah Younger smiled at her son and helped him look up the definition a research method in which someone studies a social or cultural group on his tablet During class Jordan tasked his students with wandering the university halls to take notes on their surroundings as if they were performing an ethnographic field assessment of the building Nolan and his mom walked through the Plaza Building on the Auraria campus he with his tablet and she with a notebook and pen documenting the world around them They noticed Braille on the numbered signs posted outside each classroom Specks on the ceiling tiles Flyers advertising Spanish club events on bulletin boards Back in the classroom Nolan s hand was the first to shoot up when Jordan sought students to share their findings The professor called on the -year-old first I noticed vending machines on every floor of the building Nolan commented Jordan praised the young boy s observation The class nodded in affirmation specific cracking small smiles as Nolan turned his attention back to the handmade worksheet his mother had created instructing him to write down what he had learned that day and how he was feeling About one in students at MSU Denver is also a parent according to university figures One in five college students across the country has children according to national nonprofit Generation Hope which aims to ensure all apprentice parents succeed Younger is determined to make the pursuit of a degree at MSU Denver more accessible for students raising children She is a new scholar fellow for Generation Hope s FamilyU plan which works with college leaders staff and students to make campuses more friendly to scholars taking care of kids MSU Denver is among five universities in the country selected to participate in the operation which focuses on improving policies materials and aid systems for parenting students If Younger couldn t bring her son to class when needed the communications major is not sure what she would do The struggle of finding consistent child care is one hurdle preventing college-going parents from earning degrees MSU is family-friendly and we re making it even more inclusive for families Younger noted It s wonderful to be a part of this My kiddos know mommy goes to college and now they re inquisitive about college too Jordan s willingness to go above and beyond encouraging Nolan to participate is just one example of the university s commitment to families At MSU Denver we believe that a trainee s role as a parent is a strength not a barrier President Janine Davidson stated in a message Through FamilyU we are committed to creating a space where parenting students are fully seen supported and empowered Helping future parents Younger works with departments throughout MSU Denver including financial aid apprentice affairs and faculty looking for strategies to improve existing policies or procedures in the eyes of a mom dad or caregiver So far she has helped develop an online hub with materials all in one place and planned events including a bring your kid to school day welcoming parents and their children to campus That event allowed kids to see the place where their support workers learn featured a kids clothing drive and free family portraits and allowed the university to educate parents on what information exist for them The activity has also given parents the option to self-identify during school orientation for better data-keeping and so the university can email them guidance and updates Surveying students and parents across the country Generation Hope determined that plenty of felt disconnected from their college region did not see family-friendly characteristics on their campuses and felt that scholar services like financial aid offices weren t properly educated on how to serve parents For example child care expenses can be included to determine a attendee s financial aid award which multiple students like Younger didn t know Younger has two toddlers in daycare while Nolan is in school Communication studies major Mariyah Younger right and her son Nolan Kersey take ethnographic field notes for a class at Metropolitan State University of Denver on Thursday Oct Photo by Hyoung Chang The Denver Post The online hub educates parents and pregnant students about anatomical accommodations they might qualify for child care options on campus lactation rooms policies regarding students return to classes after childbirth financial aid information and summer camp suggestions We re examining all of our policies and we are working with aspirant parents to get their input on what policies are needed noted Kristen Lyons MSU Denver psychology professor and one of the faculty representatives on the FamilyU squad When you promotion a trainee parent you re supporting their kids and it directly impacts the whole family Being a part of the FamilyU effort provides a coach to analyze your institution a customized work plan for your campus quarterly cohort meetings a paid pupil parent fellow and a meeting between Generation Hope and the university s executive leaders My hope is that people who are thinking about returning to college or starting it here at MSU Denver know the university is here to endorsement them and their success Lyons stated I hope that our candidate parents get to complete their dream of an development Laura Delmonico s three children have watched their mom plow through a psychology major with a minor in human expansion and family studies at MSU Denver Her -year-old walked in on her taking an online test last month The little girl commented You re going to do great Mom I m proud of you and you got this According to details from the National Center for Learning Statistics the group majority likely to have attended college three years after high school were students with at least one parent who had a bachelor s or other degree and who inferred their family could afford college The group least likely to have attended college during that same timeframe was students whose parents had a high school diploma or less and who held their family could not afford it They see me staying up late and working hard and they know what that means Delmonico noted They know what hard work looks like They see what it takes to do something you re passionate about Delmonico went to the University of Hawaii right out of high school but determined it wasn t quite the right fit She moved back to Colorado without her degree and then life work having three kids happened When Delmonico decided she required to prioritize her college degree again MSU Denver seemed like a good fit for the single mother more affordable flexible and used to working with non-traditional populations Delmonico is an online scholar and a teaching assistant in addition to being a mother College is a different experience this time around When I first went to college it was about having fun and meeting new people and sometimes going to class Delmonico noted When you re a parent you don t have time for that extra stuff You are there to learn You re there to get work done You do your best and stay up late and get up early and you just get your stuff done Delmonico is now involved in the student-parent advocacy work at MSU along with Younger and other parents She enjoys the camaraderie of meeting other participant parents and bonding over how exhausted they are she declared while guffawing I want to help lay specific groundwork and get several things going because I want it to be better for all the parents that come after me Delmonico mentioned When I cross the finish line I want to make sure I m turning around and helping all the waves behind me get across too Communication studies major Mariyah Younger right and her son Nolan Kersey take ethnographic field notes for a class at Metropolitan State University of Denver on Thursday Oct Photo by Hyoung Chang The Denver Post A different journey When Younger emailed Jordan earlier this semester to let him know that managing her child care demands along with in-person classes was proving intricate he advised her that his plan has consistently been that there s no reason not to bring kids to class It s been awesome Jordan explained I really like it when the kids are there It gets the enrolled students participating a little more actively as well I think that meeting any students where they re at is a really major part of teaching and makes class more accessible and meaningful Jordan s own experience growing up might influence his plan When the professor was in first grade his mom started taking basic courses at a San Diego society college something no one in his family had done My first memories of what college was as a concept were hanging out with my mom in a composition class Jordan revealed As someone who didn t have college grads in my family it normalized that this is a thing adults can go do to learn things and better their life Now -year-old Nolan sits in Jordan s class taking in the college experience for himself College he declared is really cool The people are extra polite and sometimes you walk around campus and find people performing or making art or playing games His favorite thing about college so far is the Starbucks on campus he declared as his mom rolled her eyes and laughed promising a sweet treat after class In the mornings it s a mad dash out the door for Younger and her three children as she gets the younger two to preschool and Nolan to elementary school She downloads her class readings and listens to them in the car on the way to morning drop-offs Once a week she picked up Nolan from school late as she raced out of her college courses and fought traffic His school advised her they d have to call Child Protective Services if she was late again so she decided to pick him up early once a week and bring him to class with her Communication studies major Mariyah Younger right and her son Nolan Kersey walk through a building at Metropolitan State University of Denver on Thursday Oct Photo by Hyoung Chang The Denver Post Related Articles University of Denver ends DEI initiatives to protect funding but chancellor says school isn t kowtowing MSU Denver creating Juilliard of mariachi in new music major With child care costing a year how are Denver parents affording families Coming in A drop-in child care center at the Denver airport How to choose a child care initiative in Colorado I had a sense of guilt about it but I am doing the best I can and he is engaged here and learning so much Younger reported He is doing his homework and I make him worksheets and I know he is getting a lot out of it I am a mom and a aspirant and I take both of those jobs seriously After Younger graduates in the spring she plans to pursue her master s degree and eventually work in higher training so she can help other novice parents like herself earn their degrees and better their futures You get there when you get there and it s OK that the journey looks different than those around you Younger commented My goal is to see parenting guidance become institutionalized Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter