In honor of National Student Parent Month, the Child Development Club hosted a student parent social for El Camino College students and their children Tuesday, Sept. 23, on the Library Lawn.
National Student Parent Month takes place every September to celebrate, recognize and advocate for the needs and duties of over 3 million undergraduate student parents in the U.S. juggling school, parenting and working.
Maria Lopez, president of the Child Development Club and a mother of four, organized the event and attended with her 2-year-old son, Kairo, who interacted with other children by playing frisbee and enjoying coloring activities.
Playgroups similar to this event and hosted by the club ordinarily occur the first Saturday of each month at the Library Lawn.
The next playgroup will take place Saturday, Oct. 4, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Lopez said the event — which offered snacks, drinks and activities for children and parents to enjoy and experience together — also shared space with Connections for Children.
Connections for Children, a non-profit child care resource referral agency, will host office hours twice a month this semester offering free on-campus assistance for ECC students who need help finding and paying for childcare.
The office hours occur every fourth Tuesday from 1- 5 p.m. and every second Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Social Justice Center, Communications Building Room 204.
Students, parents and caregivers who are interested in exploring child care and assistance with subsidized program eligibility are welcome to attend Connections for Children’s office hours — more information is available here.
Events hosted in October by the Child Development Club include a FIRST program collaboration, online Zoom webinars and a “Parent Community Resource Fair” offering free groceries, clothes, books and essentials needed for childcare.
For more information on the times and locations of these events, visit the Child Development Club’s Instagram page, @ecc_cdclub.
Building and having a support system
The Child Development Club was founded in 2017 by student Morgan Weber, who was interested in forming a community to support parenting students and students majoring in childhood education.
The club offers opportunities for students and parents to engage in interaction activities, personal growth, volunteer work and community support for those with children.
Cynthia Cervantes is a full-time childhood development faculty member and also the Childhood Development Club’s proud adviser.
Cervantes was excited when she first heard Morgan Weber’s pitch about the club idea.
“She [Weber] approached our department with the idea and I was so enthusiastic. I loved the idea and the club has been amazing from day one,” Cervantes said.
This club has weekly meetings held Mondays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in Behavioral and Social Sciences Building Room 110.
For those who cannot make it to campus, the club also offers an online Zoom link where club members can join in from anywhere.
Students can attend club workshops that offer different guest speakers in the childhood development field each Monday in person.
These workshops include resources and advice involving the early education field, navigating moving further in the field, setting goals and staying on track.
Cervantes said the club is essential for students to get more experience and understanding when in the childhood development field.
“I think our students deserve quality experiences in the classroom and outside of the classroom as well,” she said.
Cervantes said that she has a strong passion for the field and shows up to every club meeting, event and fundraiser.
“This is a volunteer position for myself and all of our students,” Cervantes said. “No advisers get compensation for this, it’s out of love.”
The goal she has for the club is to provide work-based learning experiences for students, giving them the opportunity to interact with one another through workshops, hands-on experiences and community events that take place around campus.
Alumni and club members continue the mission
Maria Fernanda Salgado Martinez, a club member and an ECC alumna, helped founder Weber get the ball rolling and bring the Child Development Club to life.
“I was vice president with her, then I was president for two years, and I graduated in 2020 but I’m back just to get more stuff done,” Martinez said.
Martinez graduated in spring 2020 with an associate degree in child development and a certificate in early childhood education.
As an international student from Mexico, she developed a strong passion for the subject after learning more about the career and being exposed to different focuses and majors within the child development field.
“In Mexico we don’t have play-based education or anything like that so I’m very passionate about that,” Martinez said.
She returned to ECC to earn an early intervention assistant certificate of achievement, which prepares students for careers in public or private programs dealing with infants, toddlers and preschoolers.
Next semester, she plans to transfer to California State University, Long Beach, to pursue her bachelor’s in child development and family studies.
Martinez reconnected with the Child Development Club to continue her involvement in growing the club and the early education department.
“These decisions would not only open broader job opportunities for my future, but they would also allow me to find better financial stability,” Martinez said.
Her goal is to create a community support system for the campus to prove there’s a lot to take in when raising a child, not only just focusing on school.
“So it takes more than just teachers to make an impact,” Martinez said.
Martinez wants to create an environment supportive of the parents and community to ensure people are aware of the importance and value of children.
Club member Tyler Smith originally pursued nursing before switching her major to business administration.
Only having four to five classes left, she realized her calling and decided to take a step back and think about her decision.
“I was like, ‘What is one thing that I don’t get tired of, that I truly do enjoy,’ and I was working with kids,” Smith said. “So then I decided, ‘You know what, let’s just switch it,’ because that is the one thing that I enjoy.”
Smith explained her passion for children goes way back as she has 13 years of experience working with them, which made her realize why she found her passion for it while rethinking her major choices.
Smith’s main takeaways from the club are the many resources it provides.
“I never knew exactly how much or how broad this area of education is, so to learn about all the different resources and everything was big on me,” Smith said.
She enjoys the fact that she can communicate and build a community of people who are in the same field as her.
Looking Ahead
The Childhood Development Club opens many doors and activities for students and parents attending ECC who are looking to sharpen their knowledge by learning steps toward the growth and development of children in their communities.
Although the motivation and drive within a person’s career or passion can fade, individuals go through waves of losing interest.
But for Cervantes, it comes naturally because she is doing what she loves.
“All of my job is a breath of fresh air. Anything that has to do with my students, with our students, I love,” Cervantes said.
