{"id":117863,"date":"2023-03-07T13:36:25","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T19:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=117863"},"modified":"2023-03-28T13:39:17","modified_gmt":"2023-03-28T18:39:17","slug":"support-gives-uwm-students-who-are-parents-a-crucial-boost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/support-gives-uwm-students-who-are-parents-a-crucial-boost\/","title":{"rendered":"Support gives 51ÁÔÆæ students who are parents a crucial boost"},"content":{"rendered":"

When she arrived on the 51ÁÔÆæ campus, Justice Grau was pregnant with her son, Jaxson. Grau knew the importance of obtaining a degree, she said, and understood that this wouldn\u2019t be an easy accomplishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t have family in Milwaukee, and we were new to the area,\u201d she said. \u201cI knew I would need support navigating higher education as a first-generation student and soon-to-be parent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grau, who had earned her associate degree at Madison Area Technical College (now Madison College), was also a first-generation student.<\/p>\n

\u201cI needed to find a program that understood what it\u2019s like to be an expecting parent and how to navigate higher education while carrying a child, then working full-time, going to school and taking care of a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Michael Levandowski, who earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from 51ÁÔÆæ and expects to graduate in May with his master\u2019s, enjoys some fun time with his son, Stephen, 9. (Rachel Kubczak photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She found her answer at 51ÁÔÆæ through the Life Impact program, which later transitioned into the Student Parent Success Program in 2021. With the support those programs provided, Grau was able to earn her bachelor\u2019s degree in community education, then graduated in December 2022 with a master\u2019s degree in cultural foundations of community engagement and education certificate in racial and social justice in education.<\/p>\n

Jaxson is now 4 years old, and Grau works for the American Civil Liberties Union as its community engagement director.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so grateful for the Life Impact program and the support that I received as an undergraduate,\u201d she said. At that time, Life Impact offered scholarships for student parents, and that helped her pay for her textbooks. When the Life Impact program transitioned into the Student Parent Success Program, the direct scholarships ended, but outreach to student parents was expanded to more students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever I was having a hard day, juggling all my responsibilities as a first-generation student parent, their offices were always open,\u201d Grau said. \u201cIt made me feel seen and recognized. I don\u2019t think I would have graduated without that support, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Nala Diallo, who earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in communication in 2021 enjoys an art activity with her daughter, Talia, 4. (Rachel Kubczak photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Life Impact program started in 2005 as a collaboration between 51ÁÔÆæ and the Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation. Originally it was a six-year pilot program, serving a selected group of undergraduate student parents. With additional support, the program continued for another 15 years. But in 2021 amid the pandemic, the program pivoted and became the Student Parent Success Program, according to Rachel Kubczak, program director.<\/p>\n

The program is now open to all student parents, including undergraduate, graduate and international students. 51ÁÔÆæ now has around 1,300 student parents, according to Kubczak.<\/p>\n

The focus of the program is to provide 51ÁÔÆæ students with children holistic support that empowers parenting students, she said. This is done in a variety of ways, including educational parent workshops and get-togethers for fun family activities like bowling at the Union Rec Center or movies at the 51ÁÔÆæ Union Cinema.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>The Student Parent Success Program provides students an opportunity to connect with their parenting peers and receive individualized support from program staff when needed,\u201d Kubczak said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Children and parents do yoga during a Student Parent Support Program activity. (Rachel Kubczak photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the program doesn\u2019t offer scholarships, it does help students connect with other campus and community-based scholarship programs that might meet their needs, such as funding for nontraditional students.<\/p>\n

Kubczak and Natalie Reinbold, the former director of Life Impact, were always willing to take time to help her, Grau said, whether it was walking her through the Children\u2019s Center application process or talking to her about how to reach out to her professors or encouraging her to apply for the job at the ACLU.<\/p>\n

\u201cNatalie and Rachel were always right there, saying, \u2018We\u2019re going to talk you through it. You\u2019re not alone.\u2019 I love them for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grau\u2019s interest in community education and engagement started when she organized a free event. She worked with community members collecting cars\u00a0seats, clothing, diapers and toys. Through this she held an all-day event where parents and families in need could pick out anything, with no questions asked. \u201cI decided I want to learn more about how to better support not only children, but my community.\u201d<\/p>\n

She found that the School of Education\u2019s program in community education matched her interests. She particularly remembers the support she received from Agnes Williams, lecturer in educational policy and community studies.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was my first-ever Black woman teacher in my entire life,\u201d Grau said. \u201cShe was so supportive. It was so encouraging to see someone that looks like you and understands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams encouraged Grau to get her master\u2019s degree and served as Grau\u2019s capstone project chair. \u201cI told her, \u2018Remember when I first met you Jaxson was in my belly and now he\u2019s 3 years old.\u2019 It was amazing,\u201d Grau said.<\/p>\n

In her job at ACLU, Grau promotes and protects the civil liberties and civil rights of all residents of Wisconsin through education, outreach, organizing, direct action, and educational programming for adults and youth. She tells parents about her own experiences at 51ÁÔÆæ. \u201cI want to let people they can feel supported as I felt supported when I found 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her degree has helped her find the career she always wanted, she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really love my job. It really aligns with my life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

College students who have children face obstacles and difficulties that their classmates do not. The Student Parent Success Program gives them important support. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":835,"featured_media":119494,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[],"section":[122,126],"display_categories":[115,116],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[167],"class_list":["post-117863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","section-campus-community","section-campus-news","display_categories-top-story-secondary","display_categories-top-story-section","uwmnews-feed-alumni-association"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-28 15:19:33","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/835"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117863"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117863\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119497,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117863\/revisions\/119497"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117863"},{"taxonomy":"section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section?post=117863"},{"taxonomy":"display_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display_categories?post=117863"},{"taxonomy":"related-coverage","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/related-coverage?post=117863"},{"taxonomy":"uwmnews-feed","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/uwmnews-feed?post=117863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}