Some mothers that are full time students and working manage their time, money, and lives better than students with less responsibilities. Students ages 21 and older have difficulty in school especially with time management.
Many students in this age group also hold full-time or part-time jobs and can’t manage school, work and social life causing their grades to fall victim. Contrary to belief, it seems the more responsibilities certain students obtain the better they do in school.
Hard working student mothers manage work, children, home responsibilities, and some the complications of just being pregnant without letting their grades suffer.
Keneshia Coates, an expecting mother and graduate student at FAMU, explains why being pregnant while in school can be just as hard as having a child.
“Dealing with stress and fatigue has been the hardest part of being a student and employee” said Coates said. She continues by saying how she has made adjustments for the better. “ I would normally wait until the deadline for a test or an assignment and cram a couple days before. Now that I'm pregnant my body can't undergo unnecessary stress, and I must practice time management.”
Jasmine Kelly, a new mother who just gave birth to her first child in December, agrees with Coates completely.
“One of the most difficult things that I experienced was the extreme fatigue. Going back and forth between school and work, multiple times a week was hard on my body and I was exhausted” Kelly said.
Prioritizing is something that she said keeps her going throughout the day. “I operate by order of priority. Which is being a mom first, work, then school,” Kelly said.
A contingency plan is what keeps Ronice Seniors functioning. “Let things happen the way they are going to happen. Trying to be in so much control is unrealistic. A contingency plan is always good,” Seniors said.
Seniors, the mother of a two-year-old and graduating senior at FAMU , has had enough practice on managing school, work and taking care of her child.
“I have strategically placed my classes and work schedule so that I will be finished with my day by the time I have to pick my son up from school,” Seniors said.
Marion Rollins, who has been a step mom for over 3 years and graduate student at FSU,, has all her ducks in a row as well.
“Since I have become a stepmom, I have had to make sure that my classes and work schedule all fit the schedule of my step son… I have had to adjust my work schedule to mornings/afternoons only,” Rollins said.
All of these mothers encourage to keeping in touch with their professors and employers helps out a great deal.
“I would first recommend that if you are in school and working just let your professors and employers know that you have a child. I found that my professors and employers have been very understanding about every situation that I have had when I made them aware that I had a stepchild,” said Rollins.
All of these practices are encouraged not just for students with children, but to all students.
Coates and Seniors are set to graduate this semester from FAMU. Coates with her Masters degree and Seniors with her Bachelors degree. Rollins and Kelly are both attending grad school at FSU, and graduated from FAMU spring 2014. These mothers have more in common than being responsible for little ones, they all have got a good grip with managing their lives accordingly to be successful in school and work. Another major thing they all agreed on was, “To keep God first and everything else will fall in place” Kelly said.