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University graduation is an exciting time of taking pride in hard work and celebrating accomplishments. At a recent graduation at the University of Mary in North Dakota, the campus celebrated for an extra special reason: a precious 18-month-old named Lucia, who crossed the commencement stage with her mom.
Lucia’s mother, Katie Chihoski, is the first-ever graduate of a special campus program to support student moms. The St. Teresa of Calcutta Community for Mothers is “an on-campus community for single mothers seeking to pursue or complete a bachelor’s degree in their chosen field.”
College and motherhood
The University of Mary’s St. Teresa of Calcutta Community for Mothers “exists to support young women who are either facing a crisis pregnancy or needing additional help navigating the contending pressures of college life and new motherhood.”
Eligible student mothers and their children (newborn - age 4) can count on free room, board, and volunteer childcare year-round. Through the university’s one-of-a-kind Year-Round Campus (YRC) program, student mothers can earn their undergraduate degrees and start their careers in as little as 2.6 years.
Besides Chihoski, there are four other mothers in the program, with two more expected to join this fall. They hail from as far away as Texas and Colorado, as well as from North Dakota.
A welcoming campus community
When Chihoski found out she was pregnant with Lucia, she worried about navigating college life with a baby in tow. “Coming to school, I expected to be seen as different, and somewhat outcast from the typical college life,” she said in an interview with Aleteia.
Instead, she and her daughter thrived in the warmly welcoming campus community. One university administrator described little Lucia as “the belle of campus,” and sure enough, Chihoski said her little daughter made countless friends on campus: “Since Lucia was 4 months old, she was going to sports games, campus events, and meeting people. Because of that, she is the most social baby you will ever meet!”
Challenges, but lots of babysitters
Going to college with a baby brings challenges. (“A lot of college events begin around 7 p.m., which is when most of us mothers start putting the babies to bed,” Chilhoski said.) There was never a shortage of eager babysitters, however, especially after the student moms moved into a “regular” student dorm, a block of suites in Boniface East Hall — complete with a dedicated community room and nursery.
“When you live in a dorm, there is almost always someone in their room who can keep an eye on a monitor or listen for any crying babies,” she said. She described going to college with her daughter as a joyfully positive experience:
Attending school with my daughter has been the most amazing thing to witness. Children bring out the joy in people and offer a fuller sense of purpose. Lucia makes the world twice as much fun. I have watched her turn someone’s day around and make friends with a student sitting next to us at Mass. I still get to participate in all the college things, but with my daughter, who still sees every experience as exciting, curious, and hilarious.
She credits the St. Teresa of Calcutta Community for making it possible to graduate and live on campus, saying, “If it wasn't for the program, I don't think I could have stayed at UMary longer than one semester with my daughter.”
Learning to love
The rest of campus benefited from the St. Teresa of Calcutta Community as the student moms did.
“It has been wonderful having the community of mothers on campus,” said Reed Ruggles, University of Mary Vice President for Student Development, in an interview with Aleteia.
Supporting these mothers is truly a gift to us. It has been great to see some of these children grow up. Lucia, for example, was very little when she moved in with her mother, Katie. To see her take her first steps, say her first words, grow from carrier to highchair in our Crow’s Nest Restaurant on campus, and just recently clenching her mom’s arm and hip as Katie walked across the stage to receive her diploma from President Monsignor James Shea has been a gift to all of us.
Our students hear all the time about how they can give their life away in love. This community shows students what that can look like from a practical perspective and gives students an opportunity to practice that by giving their time and love to these mothers and their children.
Graduate and little graduate
On April 27, Chihoski crossed the stage to get her diploma with little Lucia in her arms wearing a matching toddler-sized graduation gown. As the first graduate of the student mothers’ community, her graduation was a celebration for the entire campus, although no doubt she and little Lucia will be missed.
Chihoski is engaged to be married in October to one of her classmates at University of Mary, and they are looking forward to making a home for their beautiful family in Minnesota. We wish them all the best in their future, and we look forward to seeing the accomplishments of future St. Teresa of Calcutta Community students and their children!
