THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT VOICE OF CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN BERNARDINO SINCE 1965
Coyote Chronicle COYOTECHRONICLE.NET
March 17, 2022
Vol. LXVI, No. 2
Motherhood as a full-time student
Photo by Citlaly Carlos
By Celeste Santarrosa Staff Writer At CSUSB, 63% of students are female. However, how many of those 12,167 students are also balancing motherhood? Alexis McCool, a 20 year-old sociology major, gives insight on being a full-time mom and full-time student. “It has been hard for me to adjust, but having a support system and knowing that I have people to help me has been a big help with adjusting back into school,” said McCool. Raising a child while attending college can be both a struggle and an incredible motivator. One thing for sure is that it’s a challenge, but it’s a challenge that many mothers take to achieve their goals and provide their children with a better future.
Inside This Issue
As a new mother to a baby boy, McCool multitasks from completing homework and changing diapers. Having a child means having to make some sacrifices, but her college degree will never be one of them. One major sacrifice that she had to be make was taking the spring semester off. “As a new mother I decided to take this semester off to focus on my son and making sure he is doing well,” said McCool. “In the Fall though, I will make the transition to being fully online.” Despite taking a semester off, Mccool still has her set goals in obtaining her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. The most challenging part to raising a child while attending college courses was where she’d find the time to tackle them both. Mccool stresses how the university makes no effort in helping mothers adapt to the
change. “I think the reason why I had to take a semester off was because the majority of my classes were going to be in person and for me, I would be on campus more than with my son,” said McCool. “I feel like our university needs to accommodate having new moms online or giving a tutor to help new moms adjust back into school.” According to a study in 2018, student-parents with children had about fifty percent fewer hours left for things like sleeping, cleaning, eating, or studying than nonparent students. “As soon as my son falls asleep, I want to do a million different things and you have to see which one is more important: showering, doing homework, or even cleaning up the house. As your little one wakes up you regret not doing more or even choosing something else over
From degree to career, do degrees decide your occupation? Pg. 5
what you really need to do,” said McCool. Without a child care center on campus being an option, McCool relied on the help of loved ones. “I am actually really lucky that I have my mom and family that have been there for me throughout my whole pregnancy. My boyfriend, to me, has been my biggest support system.” said McCool. Having her support system there to listen and lean on allowed McCool to open up about her mental health issues she finds herself facing. “On a personal level, I do suffer from anxiety and depression and after having my baby, I was suffering from postpartum depression and it took a toll on my body and mental health,” said McCool. “Having my boyfriend and mom there for me and to be able to
From “BookTok” to Your Bookshelf Pgs. 7
listen to how I felt was really nice.” Another way she is able to relieve stress and anxieties is spending some time outdoors. “I love to be outside even if it’s just for a couple hours a day. So I try to take my son for a walk around our apartment complex or even going to the store.” said McCool. Regardless of the challenges to balance both her focus on raising a newborn and meeting graduation requirements, she finds herself proud of some accomplishments throughout her journey of motherhood. “I am so proud that I have been able to work through my anxiety and depression,” said McCool. “Also, just to know that I am a mother to a healthy baby boy and to see him grow everyday is the biggest blessing. Motherhood is just such a beautiful thing.”
Dr. Nerren: “With hardship comes opportunity too” Pg. 9