Nontraditional students balance family and homework

By Whitney Howard

Being busy is common for college students.

For students like Pam June, president of the Nontraditional Student Association at Utah State University, tacking the roles of wife and mother to her list of commitments takes “busy” to a new level.

June originally attended college at 18, but had a hard time taking it seriously, she said.

“I was away from home for the first time. There were a lot of distractions. I just had a lot of fun, and my grades showed it,” June said.

When June’s oldest children were two and four years old, she was accepted at Weber State University. However, due to being unable to find someone to watch her children, college was postponed.

After working — “dead end job after dead end job” — June decided that, at her age, she needed a career.

While previous attempts to attend college fell through, time provided June with insight.

“I’m kind of glad I never got a degree earlier because I’d probably be going back to get another degree,” June said. “Now that I know what I want to do, I’ve just decided it was time.”

June is currently a senior at Utah State University studying community health.

June now has six children, her two oldest being 24 and 22 years old. June took a class in Brigham City with her oldest daughter before she graduated and she is currently enrolled at USU with her 22-year-old.

“I hardly ever see her because we’re in different majors, but it’s never been awkward,” June said.

Suzanne Stout, vice president of the Nontraditional Student Association, said traditional-aged students are welcoming.

“As far as young traditional age students go, I have never had any problems,” said Stout, a junior in family, consumer and human development. “They’re been so friendly, so accepting.”

Stout has four children between 7 and 16 years old.

Both June and Stout agree that it’s a challenge to attend their children’s many extracurricular activities, like sports games or music concerts.

“If I can’t be there, somebody — like my husband or my mom — can make it,” June said. “I have missed a lot of games, but I’ve also been to a lot of games.”

For Stout, staying afloat means utilizing time. For example, she brings flashcards to sports games and flips through them during slow times.

“You have little pockets, and you just know how much time you have,” Stout said. “I know I have this amount of time to do homework before the kids get home, or this amount of time before or after work.”

Free time is scarce for both June and Stout. While Stout watches very little TV, June makes one exception — “Once Upon a Time.”

“My extra stuff is going to my kids’ soccer games,” Stout said. “I think that’s a big, huge thing, is you have to prioritize.”

While social lives take the backseat, the Nontraditional Student Association, or NTSA, has monthly get-togethers where nontraditional students can share advice, ideas and company, June said. Another forum the NTSA provides is the USU Nontraditional Study Group on Facebook.

Child Care Access Means Parents In School — or CCAMPIS — is a grant project that offers child care subsidies to those who qualify.

“The grant also understands the stress of being a student and parent and offers resources such as free evening child care, newsletters and classes to help with financial, time management and other stresses that are a part of being a student parent,” said Konie Humphreys, an Aggie Care Coordinator.

The USU Center for Women and Gender provides scholarships, a free family lending library and brown bag therapy sessions, Humphreys said.

Humphreys’ sister is a single mother of six children and a USU nursing student. They commonly discuss the stress that comes with being a mother and a student, Humphreys said.

“If you stop before you reach the end goal of graduating then the hard work and stress isn’t worth as much, but if you can continue the forward motion and forge through the tunnel, the light will come,” Humphreys said.

— whitney.howard@aggiemail.usu.edu
@omgwhitshutup