The Griffon News

Vanessa Magruder wakes up early every morning, showers, dresses and eats before she leaves her home for campus just like any other student at Western. Her morning stop on the way to school isn’t Burger King for a croissant, it’s Wilson Hall. Where she drops off her three-year-old son, Cole, at Y’s Kids World, a childcare center operated by the St. Joseph Family YMCA, located only minutes from her classes and job at Esry Student Health Center.

Magruder began her college career at Western in the fall of 2001. After attending classes for one year she transferred to Ft. Dodge, Iowa, where she earned her associates degree. 

When Magruder returned to St. Joseph after her son Cole was born, she waited until he was one to return to Western. He attended three other childcare centers in the area before mastering the toilet and being of age to attend the Y’s Kids World.

Many students at Western share Magruder’s morning routine. Dressing and feeding an extra person and making an extra stop in the morning before sliding into their chair at class. 

Not everyone leaves high school and proceeds immediately to college and graduates before starting a family. When this happens they need to find someone to care for their children. To most the struggle with childcare issues is more of a headache than studying for finals during the last week of school.

The struggles parents face can be emotional, physical and financial.

“My daughter is in a home-based center where I know and trust the person who is watching her,” Ashley Rainsbarger said. Rainsbarger who is a senior at Western has childcare issues that mirror Magruder’s. 

New moms sometimes have a hard time separating with a newborn. It is harder than leaving a toddler as Magruder chose to stay at home with her son until he was one year. 

In addition to the emotional separation from your child, the student parent faces the physical act when choosing childcare based on location.

“It’s very convenient for me because I work on campus, I go to school on campus and I live not very far from here, it gets me to class on time,” Magruder said of having Cole at the Y’s Kids World. 

Mary Nuckols, director of Y’s Kids World, said the location of Y’s Kids World is the main reason students choose to leave their children there.

 “We have an open door policy here, I encourage my parents to come and spend time with their child in between classes. Come read them a book, eat with them, play with them, we’re here so you can be near them whenever you want,” Nuckols said.

Ellen Kisker, Non-Traditional Student Services Director, helps students who are juggling both family and school. Childcare is the biggest obstacle these students face, she said.

“Non-trads do so much better in school if they are not worried about their children. They want their babies and youngsters to be in settings that they are comfortable with. When that happens, they can relax and ultimately do better in their academics,” Kisker said.  

Next to the emotional and physical act of separating with their child, parents also have the financial responsibility of supporting their families, which can often lead to hardship.

 “I know it’s really tight going back to school after you have a family,  so we try to help everyone,” Nuckols said.

All students as well as faculty receive a 20 percent discount on children enrolled full-time at the Y’s Kids World.  They also receive a complimentary family membership at the St. Joseph YMCA, Nuckols said. She said they work with all different kinds of financial assistance offered through the state and YMCA. 
Magruder said that the weekly rates at the Y’s Kids World are less expensive than other places she has taken Cole. 

Many of the childcare centers located in St. Joseph also work with students and accept different forms of financial aid.  However, childcare centers that are run and operated by a religious based group are state license exempt and therefore do not meet the requirements set by the state to be eligible to receive financial assistance.

Magruder has continued to persevere through the daily struggles of being a student, mom and provider for her child. She will graduate with her bachelors in health and exercise science this sum­mer. 

“I have felt safer and more secure having Cole here on campus,” Magruder said. “If something happens I don’t have to drive across town to go and get him.”  

“Some students don’t attend college because they don’t have childcare,” Magruder said.

Although it has been a struggle at times Magruder encourages other moms to continue taking classes until they graduate.  Although the struggles of separating with your child can be taxing both emotionally, physically and financially, Magruder hopes that Western will eventually open its doors to parents of smaller children to help combat these issues, as having her son at Y’s Kids World has enhanced her education through the many benefits it offers.