By Charles LaRocca
Mother’s Day is a time for reflection and appreciation. Moms on campus are juggling school, work and kids with grace and ambition, though it can be challenging.
There are many mothers who are full-time students at College of Southern Nevada. Being moms in college requires perseverance and desire to pursue something greater for themselves and their kids.
“I have two kids and they really push me to pursue a degree,” CSN student Megan Merafuentas said. “They deserve a great life and I want to make that happen for them. It is really tough sometimes. I just want to give up but then I think of the positive outcomes and I am doing this to better my children’s lives.”
“My home life, let’s just say, is chaotic,” Merafuentas added. “I have school in the morning and as soon as I get out I pick up my daughter from school and help her do homework. Then I make dinner for them and all the mom stuff. Then I go to bed around 9 p.m. and that is the only free time I get to study or do homework. I work on the weekends so it kind of balances my week out: school during the week and work on the weekends. When I am not doing that I am taking care of my kids.”
Merafuentas manages the different aspects of her life well as do other mothers.
“Seeing how strongly I view my kids’ educations and how well I want them to do made me realize I should finish or should I say ‘start’ my education,” said Ryan Rosborough, CSN student. “I cannot cocktail forever especially when looks fade. I have my whole life to work so why not do something I enjoy. I would like to improve my future for not only myself but my kids.”
A November 2014 study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research—which has done studies for the past 30 years to illuminate gender issues in policy debates—concluded that there are nearly 3.5 million mothers in college pursuing undergraduate degrees. Some of those are working towards their degrees on our campus.
Jazzlynn Wilkins, CSN student, said she had to take a step back to move forward. “After having kids, I pretty much went into focus mode and heavily pursued my college education.” Wilkins said. “I started out at UNLV for a semester, after just having my son in August and school started the following week. To say I was overwhelmed was an understatement. I tried UNLV for a semester and decided that time off was needed so that I could focus on working. During my semester of freedom from school, I found myself bored and also anxious. I had an end goal but no way to reach it. So I knew school was a must and I couldn’t put it off any longer.”
Wilkins then enrolled at CSN and now takes night classes. She can work all day, take classes into the evening and get homework done on time. She is managing all the aspects of school, work and family and doing well at it.
Advice she gives to other mothers is to find ways to get the degrees done. “There are so many different ways to get your education,” Wilkins said. “Whether it be online, in person or self-study. There is always a way, you just have to find it through trial and error.”
“Successful mothers are not the ones that have never struggled; they are the ones that never give up despite the struggles,” wrote Sharon Jaynes, international speaker and author. These mothers at CSN do exactly that. To all the mothers Happy Mother’s Day.
Coyote Student News at the College of Southern Nevada 