Parenting students at Cal State Monterey Bay (CSUMB) are working to find resources to support their educational careers while raising families, according to students and faculty on campus.
One resource for student parents on campus is the Basic Needs Hub in Building 12, which includes a section for parenting students with items like diapers, formula and nursing supplies. The organization also hosts mixers and community events for parents seeking support.
“Student parents are an invisible population,” said Robyn DoCanto, the Basic Needs Hub coordinator. “Unless they have their kids with them, we would never know.”
“We want folks to know that they are welcome here, [and] they’re welcome to bring their kids with them while they shop,” DoCanto shared. “This is a space for them.”
DoCanto recommends that CSUMB parenting students join the Family Friendly Club and follow relevant social media channels for more information and events.
Megan Cuva is the vice president of the CSUMB Family Friendly Club. As a parenting collaborative health and human services major with two young daughters, Cuva advocates for students who are balancing schoolwork, jobs and family responsibilities.
“We try to plan events where [parents] are able to also bring their kids here for a fun time,” Cuva shared. “They’re getting connected to resources, whether it’s mental health, a sense of community or a sense of connection. We really want to make sure that’s something that can be implemented here on campus.”
As a transfer student, Cuva was not aware of any resources for parents until an orientation leader informed her of a family study room in the library. Cuva then connected with Basic Needs and Family Friendly, which led to collaborations between the organizations.
“I was at the right place at the right time and kind of got connected that way. I think that we could definitely market [events] so that parenting students don’t [feel] left out because I know that there can be like a sense of isolation,” Cuva said.
“I think if there’s a parenting student that’s reading this or comes across this, that they’re able to reach out to our Instagram, which is csumb_familyfriendly, and just messaging us with whatever they need,” Cuva said. “Hopefully we can have more voices here on campus to hear what these parenting students need and how we can best help them with anything that they need.”
Marlyn Romero, an undergraduate student majoring in human communications with a concentration in legal studies, is a student assistant at the Transfer Center and a peer mentor. She has coordinated multiple student-parent events to raise awareness of the needs of student families at the school.
“It’s been empowering being the only parenting peer mentor at the Transfer Center because I’ve gotten to incorporate that in our events,” Romero said. “I’ve done that, and it’s gotten recognized.”
Romero feels she has had to seek out additional resources and opportunities for parenting students at CSUMB, noting a lack of prioritization by various departments around campus.
“I think Basic Needs and Family Friendly are doing great for parenting students,” she said. “I was able to hear about them and learn about their parenting scholar nights and a safe space where I can bring my daughter, which I thought was really nice. Some other departments should prioritize this too because it leaves us having to go fishing for help when we have enough on our plates.”
According to Romero, there is a gap in resources and opportunities between average students and parenting students.
Romero recalls struggling to find support early on at CSUMB, suggesting that the university use surveys to identify parenting students and determine how to best support them.
“My first semester I felt very judged. I felt like I had to balance work, being a student assistant, schoolwork [and] being present in class. I had to balance all of that with also being a mother. The fact that I have to tell my professors also so that they can get a little bit of an understanding is kind of disheartening,” Romero said.
“I think CSUMB should do a little bit more research and surveying at the beginning of parenting scholars’ time here, so that we don’t have to put in all of the work, and resources can naturally find us, making it more of a parent-friendly environment,” she said.
With the help of Basic Needs, Romero will be starting a peer mentor program for parenting students.
Romero said, “I’m glad to be a part of the movement because we need more of that at CSUMB.”