Attending school and working while trying to maintain a social life can be difficult for even the best multitasker.
Adding children into the mix further complicates the matter.
“It has to be done. To pay for school and to take care of your family, you have to work to get ahead and make things better and easier for you and your children,” Raymond Hodrick, automotive major, said.
But how do students get through the day of balancing it all? How do students keep up their busy life as a parent, take on the tasks of being a college student as well as working?
Being a student requires studying and completing homework. Then there are those who have to work before or after classes, an even bigger drain on time.
“At first, I just went to school and took care of my two-year-old daughter. It was a little easier because I wasn’t so tired. Now that I have included a job into my life, I’m almost tired all the time, but it gets done,” Tara Baskin, 21, criminal justice major, said.
And those with children have to balance these tasks, all while providing the child their undivided attention to provide them with much-needed care and attention. “Luckily, with the support of my parents, I can go to school and leave my daughter with them. I do my homework between classes and on my breaks at work because I close so I try to make use of my time,” Baskin said.
Several programs on campus are designed to help students in need, Education Occupational Programs (EOPS), which assist students of low income, Care/CalWorks, whichprovides assistance to single parents and the Financial Aid Office which provides assistance to meeting the requirements.
Despite this help, some students find it hard to get everything done.
“Sometimes I can’t get all of my assignments and studying done and I don’t give my all at work because I’m always tired. Luckily, with the care program, I have a little more of a support system,” Ariel Parhm, 21, Psychology major, said.