By Rosslin Ojeda
The stress of being a working student can be overwhelming, but add being a parent into the mix and it may be downright chaotic.
Motivated Parents on the Go, an on campus club, wants students to know that they are not alone. The club began last fall by students Christine Lopez and Dan Stevens. Lopez took on the role of president while Stevens became the vice president.
They welcome all students who wish to find others in similar situations that can offer their support and understanding.
“(Students) can usually go into a classroom and talk about various things and people will understand you. It’s not that easy for parents and so we’re here to support each other and make sure that we hit our goals within a good amount of time instead of taking so long to get our degrees.” said Lopez.
The club is dedicated to helping its members stay on track in order to pursue a higher level of education while offering an open and friendly environment.
“We are geared towards student parents because it’s usually really hard to find support that’s needed in order to continue on with education,” said Lopez.
Lopez, who has two children, is thankful to the club for helping her understand that it is okay if at the moment she may not have a lot of extra time to spend with her children, but she is doing her best to be able to provide for them.
“I have guilt that I go to school, I do training for volunteer programs, things like that, that I don’t have time for my kids … it’s okay because it’s for a good reason.” said Lopez.
Members occasionally meet up on the weekends and are encouraged to bring their children along for play dates. Lopez said it gives them a sense of being an extended family.
“As a club we hold potlucks to bring members as well as our children together to be able to connect and socialize. More than anything, to know that we’re not alone and that there are many more students who feel the way we parents feel with guilt as we leave our homes to attain a better future for ourselves and family.” said fellow club member Maira Anaya.
Anaya will take on the role of vice president this semester. She hopes to attain success by being able to help other students who feel the same and need support.
The club provides a safe zone for its members to be able to talk about various issues occurring in their life, which can include dealing with child support or even past domestic violence.
Any knowledge that fellow parents have is shared in order to help each other out whenever possible.
“It’s nice to be able to share things such as various parenting methods, getting kids into certain programs or what’s the best programs nearby. Services that maybe we didn’t know about but somebody else in the club knew about.” said Lopez.
The club also welcomes and can answer any questions parents, child development majors or any interested in child studies may have. Currently, the club has open cabinet positions for anyone wanting to join.
The only requirement to be part of the cabinet is that a club participant must also be a ASU member. To be a member of the club, however, ASU membership is not required.
To learn more about Motivated Parents on the Go, it currently meets Thursdays from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the lunch tables next to the Student Center, until a permanent location is found.