In September, a student at Texas A&M, Ashton Robinson, told her instructor, Dr. Henry Musoma, that she would have to miss class because she could not find someone to watch her 10-month old son. Dr. Musoma instead told her she was welcome to bring her child to class and even ended up holding baby Emmett while teaching.
On her Facebook, Robinson wrote, “So today I emailed my Professor before class saying that something came up and I didn't have a sitter for Emmett and he called me back and said to please bring him! Being a single mom is so challenging but it's people like Dr. Henry Musoma that make life just a tiny bit easier! THIS is why I'm so proud to be an Aggie! Definitely something I'll never forget and can't wait to someday tell Emmett that it's because of people like this that mommy was able to graduate from the best university in the world
#gigem #bekind”
Being a single mom while finishing your degree is tough, but it is kind people like Dr. Musoma and courageous people like Ashton Robinson who show others it is possible. That is what changes culture.
When Maddi Runkles faced punishment from her Christian school in Maryland, Students for Life rallied to support her. The school wanted to bar Maddi from walking at graduation after she revealed she was pregnant. In response, Students for Life members and supporters from all over the country raised $16k for a college scholarship, threw her a graduation ceremony, and sparked a national conversation about how Christian schools should balance moral codes concerning abstinence against the need to support pregnant students. Maddi is now starting college classes and she even brought her son Grayson to one of our #Sockit2PP events!
The Students for Life group at St. Benedict High School in Tennessee participated in a “Giving Tree,” buying items needed by local pregnancy resource centers. The group collected important items such as shampoo, clothing, and diapers for parents in need. In total, the group collected over 300 baby items. The items will help support parents who chose life for their children in even the most difficult situations!
When Esther, a Colorado community college student, found out her financial aid was going to be revoked because she had to scale back her class load after having a baby, she reached out to Bethany Janzen, our Colorado regional coordinator. Bethany, with the help of Pregnant on Campus’ director Beth Rahal, worked with the school to help Esther win back her financial aid and continue at school. The group even threw Esther a baby shower to show how much they supported her.
When a pregnant student reached out to our University of New Mexico group, we quickly moved into action to help her with anything she needed. Luckily, one of the student leaders had a class with the student, so they were able to immediately establish a personal connection and begin figuring out what we could do to help her. The group invited her to their meetings and even threw a baby shower for her to show how much they supported her. The group is glad to report that she is doing well and even graduated from the university ahead of schedule!
When Esther (*name changed for anonymity), a Colorado community college student, found out her financial aid was going to be revoked because she had to scale back her class load after having a baby, she reached out to Bethany Janzen, our Rocky Mountain Regional Coordinator. Bethany, with the help of Pregnant on Campus director Beth Rahal, worked with the school to help Esther win back her financial aid and continue at school. Beth worked with Esther to contact the school’s Title IX Coordinator to work on an appeal. Under Title IX, schools cannot discriminate against pregnant students. The group even threw Esther a baby shower to show how much they supported her.
What makes the story even more important is that Esther had originally made an appointment to go to Planned Parenthood--where they would have pressured her to have an abortion, instead of discussing options such as keeping her baby or placing the baby for adoption.
The group helped a pregnant student in need choose life, and helped promote the culture of life we need to see on every college campus.
In November, the Students for Life group at Regis Jesuit High School in Colorado broke their previous record of diapers collected by collecting 40,313 diapers for local families in need. After an intense month of lobbying their friends and classmates to contribute, thirteen club members loaded the packs of diapers into a semi-truck for them to make their way to Alternatives Pregnancy Center and Catholic Charities which provide free support to struggling families in the Denver area.
Meghan Dudzic, Public Relations Coordinator for the Students for Life group said,
“I am humbled to be a part of an experience so much bigger than me. Seeing how my school came together to help these women and their babies showed me how love can move us to do anything God sets us to. I hope to help continue this tradition at Regis and cannot wait to see what the babies of these mothers grow up to become!”
