Penn State College of Communications comMedia

Multimedia

Student mom still strives for Penn State degree

By Tamara Conrad

PSU College of Communications

Although being a student parent appears to be an impossible task to accomplish, a small portion of the Penn State population proves daily that it is indeed feasible to simultaneously raise a child and obtain an education.

Shakara Tyler, 20, is a full-time student and parent at Penn State, University Park campus. A junior majoring in agricultural science, Tyler is the mother of one-year-old Shayla.

She said being a single mother is difficult.

"It's hard, it's really hard," Tyler said. "I know that's what everyone says, but it is."

The most difficult part about being a student parent is time management, Tyler said.

"Sometimes I just wish there were more hours in a day. 24 hours just isn't enough. I know as college students, we all wish that, but you have no idea." Tyler said, although being a full-time student and parent is feasible, it is stressful. "It causes a lot of anxiety," Tyler said.

Tyler's day starts at 7 a.m. She wakes up and has "me time" and then about 45 minutes later she gets her daughter up and out the door for day care. During the day she tries to get the majority of her schoolwork done, because she knows as soon as she gets home in the evenings, all of her attention is focused on her daughter.

Tyler discovered she was pregnant during her sophomore year of college.

"I thought about abortion, but when it came down to it, I couldn't do it," she said. "I couldn't go through that. The thought just didn't sit well with me."

When Tyler decided she wanted to keep her child, she said she immediately began searching for programs that would allow her to continue her education and raise her child.

Tyler said she is pleased with the child care assistance that Penn State offers students. "I think Penn State is really good with child care," Tyler said. "They acknowledge the fact that being a student parent is obviously financially hard."

To receive a child care subsidy, there is a two-part qualification, said the Office of Work/Life Programs at Penn State. The student parent has to qualify to receive the subsidy and the child-care center has to qualify to participate in the subsidy program.

The Penn State Office of Work/Life Programs offers child care subsidies to qualifying student parents on a first come first serve basis. Acceptance into the program depends on annual income. Qualified families receive a minimum of $400 per month for full-time child care services. All of the child care centers involved in the subsidy program must be state licensed and accredited. The child care provider must also have a STAR 4 status in the Keystone Star program, the highest status a child care center can obtain.

Penn State offers child care subsidies through two grants: the Child Care Access Means Parents in School grant from the Department of Education and the University Park Allocation Committee grant.

Tyler is receiving additional aid through the Stand Together Scholarship for single mothers and the Penn State child care subsidy for day care.

Susan Railing is one of the directors at the Childspace care center, which is one of nearly 50 centers in the State College and surrounding areas alone that can be subsidized by Penn State, according to the Office of Work/Life Program Web site. Childspace entered the program because a child's mother liked the center, but wanted to receive subsidiaries, Railing said. Being a member of the subsidy program allows the center to reach out to more people, she said.

"Part of being a diversified center is being in touch with all parts of the community," Railing said.

She said that the child care subsidy is a great program for student parents. "It allows parents with children to be able to go to school and still be able to afford a good daycare center for their kids at the same time," Railing said.

The subsidy is sent directly to the care center, Railing said, and the student parents pay the difference between the grant and the center's care costs.

Tyler and her daughter live on Penn State's campus in White Course Apartments, a housing environment designed for student parents attending Penn State. The apartment complex can house 124 families, with various layouts to accommodate families of different sizes. Families with anywhere between two to five members can live in White Course. The complex features two playground areas and community gardens for residents.

When Tyler told her family she was pregnant, her relatives were disappointed, she said. Tyler's mother became pregnant around the same age as Tyler, unfortunately she dropped out of college during her sophomore year.

"[My grandparents] thought I was going to do the same thing that she did," Tyler said. Although Tyler receives a lot of support from her grandparents, they didn't think she would be able to raise a child while going to school at a major university.

"I was like, whatever, you can think whatever you want, but I'm going to do this with or without your help," she said.

Tyler said her friends also didn't think she was capable of being a student parent. "I would tell people that I was going to bring [Shayla] back to school with me and they're like 'Yeah, whatever Shakara.' 'No you're not.' 'You can't handle that, it's impossible,' but here I am, and I'm doing it."

"Whoever thinks being a student parent, or being a single mother and a full-time student, is not possible, it is. You just need that support and the drive."

Tyler said her daughter motivates her to obtain a college education.

"Everything I do is for her," she said.

Tyler said she sees how her mother struggled to raise her without a college education.

"I always had what I needed, but I never got to do everything that I wanted to do," she said.

By earning a college degree, Tyler knows she can provide a life with more opportunities for her daughter. "I don't want to struggle. I don't want to live paycheck to paycheck, and getting my degree is the only way that I'm going to do that."

"I'm able to inspire others," Tyler said. "I'm an example that it can be done."

Day care center reaches community
through subsidy program

Susan Railing, a director at the Childspace Day Care Center, said getting involved in Penn State's child care subsidy program helps her center reach out to more children in the community.

More work by the author

See more work by Tamara Conrad in her ComMedia portfolio.