Teacher candidate Matt Robinson rises before dawn every day, prepared to educate the young men and women of Aldine Independent School district in Aldine, Texas.
It was a frigid December day in 2014 when the 23-year-old Mansfield-native found out that he was to become a father. This would be the moment that would transform Robinson from student to student parent.
“I didn’t believe it at first,” said Robinson, who had just finished his first semester at BGSU and his first season on the University’s football team. Though his initial reaction was shock, Robinson immediately accepted the responsibilities he had gained. Robinson said he decided that in order to support his child and his fiancée, it was imperative that he get his bachelor’s degree in special education.
“That’s when everything turned around for me honestly. It turned a light on inside of me. I did the best that semester and every semester after,” Robinson said. Robinson is finishing his final semester of student teaching with the University’s partner-school in Aldine, Texas. Robinson said the early days of parenthood were never simple.
He would take classes in the morning and spend the afternoon at football practice. Immediately after, he would rush home to give his exhausted fiancée a break and spend time with his son.
Robinson’s son, Levi is now 2 years old and never stops moving—not even for “Bubble Guppies,” his favorite TV show. Robinson referred to him as a ball of energy and a future football player. Levi joins him when he spends time with his friends, and Robinson described the experience as enjoyable.
For now, Robinson is in Texas teaching while his fiancée and Levi live near Bowling Green to be close to her family. They plan to marry in June. Prospective English teacher Gabrielle Taylor is a mom and has been since her sophomore year at Bradley University in her home state of Illinois.
Her son, Bane, had been planned for by Taylor and her fiancé, Brad Day. The day Taylor found out she was pregnant, she was ecstatic.
“I balled my eyes out. I had wanted this child so much,” Taylor said. She attributed a great deal of her excitement to Day who enthusiastically said, “That’s my baby! You’re carrying my baby!” when he found out.
Though happy at the prospect of becoming a mom, Taylor said panic quickly set in, and she was unsure of her next steps. How would this new responsibility affect her collegiate efforts?
She decided to take time away from college and spent a year at home, dedicated entirely to her family. After that
she decided she would return to school. Taylor and her family moved to Bowling Green to be closer to her family in the Perrysburg area.
She would continue her degree at the University. “School has affected me. I don’t know that it has affected my parenting,” Taylor said.
“I have this incredible sense of guilt all of the time because I’m here and I enjoy being here.” She went on to say the guilt she was feeling was unnecessary.
“I don’t need to feel bad because I want a life outside of being a mom,” she said. Taylor said she has learned how to balance parenthood with the responsibilities of school and the desire for social interaction. Her message to others experiencing college alongside parenthood is this: “Don’t stretch yourself too thin, but don’t purposefully miss out on things—don’t feel bad about wanting to be here.”
Taylor plans to be married in November and will graduate in May of 2019.
Robinson and Taylor are two of 4.8 million undergraduate students in America who are parents, according to a 2014 report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
While both future teachers admit their lives were changed by parenthood, both will tell you this change has been positive.
Students who are parents have resources available to them on and off campus.
The Woman’s Center, which is located in Hanna Hall, offers support and access to all resources relevant to woman’s health. The BGSU website lists the locations and phone numbers for various off-campus services including the Wood County Department of Job and Family Services and the federal program Women, Infants, and Children.
