{"id":10342,"date":"2019-05-12T20:31:10","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T04:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wou.edu\/westernhowl\/?p=10342"},"modified":"2019-05-12T20:32:58","modified_gmt":"2019-05-13T04:32:58","slug":"mothers-day-at-western-showing-appreciation-for-moms-who-are-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/mothers-day-at-western-showing-appreciation-for-moms-who-are-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Mother\u2019s Day at Western: Showing appreciation for moms who are students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Caity Healy<\/strong> | Editor in Chief<\/span><\/p>\n

Mother\u2019s Day: A time to celebrate the maternal figures in our lives who have helped us reach the point we are at now. Whoever that person is for you, an important date is coming up. Falling on May 12 this year, this holiday gives us an opportunity to thank mothers for all that they do. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that being a mother is a difficult thing to be. Add student to the job title, and the position just became all-the-more demanding \u2014 and all-the-more rewarding. Three mothers shared what it\u2019s like to be both a student and a mom, and discussed some of the obstacles they\u2019ve overcome and experienced to reach the point that they\u2019re at now.<\/span><\/p>\n

[fruitful_sep]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Demeter Finch<\/b><\/p>\n

Demeter graduated high school in 2001. Since then, she\u2019s been trying to get her bachelor\u2019s degree, going to school off and on for 18 years. For the past six years, she\u2019s been married. About four years in to her marriage, the two took notice of something.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe started asking \u2026 \u2018Why do we have no babies yet?\u2019 And we were told \u2026 I couldn\u2019t have kids,\u201d said Demeter.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, she continued pushing forward with school. However, about one year ago, she received news she didn\u2019t think she ever would: \u201cI found out I was 16 weeks pregnant,\u201d said Demeter.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe same week I found out I was in the Interpreting Program, and the same week I got accepted to Seabeck, I found out I was pregnant.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When speaking with Demeter, the amount of love she felt for her daughter, Persephone, was obvious. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe still doesn\u2019t sleep through the night. She\u2019s a mommy\u2019s-girl,\u201d said Demeter. \u201cShe\u2019s very opinionated \u2014 she\u2019s just my mini-me.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Being both a mother and a student, Demeter has faced some obstacles as she attempts to finish out her final year at Western.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor all of her firsts, I don\u2019t necessarily want to miss those but I know I have to keep coming to school and finish what I started for her,\u201d said Demeter. \u201cSo definitely, as a mom, the guilt of leaving her at home \u2026 sometimes it\u2019s not always easy. Especially with the added idea that I didn\u2019t think I would ever have her … she\u2019s super special so I need to be there.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

But despite all of the struggles she faces, the thing that helps her pull through is her perseverance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that people think \u2018oh it\u2019s not possible\u2019 \u2014 but it is possible. You just have to pick and choose what your priorities are,\u201d said Demeter. \u201cIf you have something that you want to do, just hold on to it. You can get it no matter what, just keep pushing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of Liz McClellan<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

[fruitful_sep]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Arianna Stone<\/b><\/p>\n

Arianna\u2019s story began by her moving to Australia after graduating high school in 2008 to work, save money, and practice her photography. When she moved back to the US in 2011, she became a full-time photographer. After difficulties keeping her photography business alive with Patrick, her then business-partner, now husband, the two began facing even more obstacles.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2013, the home they were renting burned down. From there they\u2019d couch hop, until they moved in with parents to save money. In 2014, they got married, bought their first home, and Arianna became pregnant with their first child, Eleanor. When she was born, Arianna became a stay-at-home mom. <\/span><\/p>\n

Soon, Arianna and Patrick realized they weren\u2019t making enough to save for important life events. Due to that, paired with several other reasons, they decided to go back to school. Arianna attended Chemeketa Community College where she earned her associate degree and had her second child, Henry, in 2018. Now, she is in her junior year at Western.<\/span><\/p>\n

With her and her husband both attending school, there are certainly some challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cScheduling is so much harder when you have little people to take care of,\u201d said Arianna. \u201cI can\u2019t just take whatever classes I want to take, whenever I want to take them.\u201d On top of that, she added that getting care for her two children can be very expensive \u2014 so much so, that she had to pick up a full-time job while being a full-time student to pay for it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Struggles aside, there are several reasons that Arianna feels that her experience is rewarding, as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy daughter got to be at my community college graduation \u2026 and that made me so proud,\u201d she said. \u201cMy daughter will see me do this, and know that nothing is impossible for her.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Arianna made it clear just how important her children are to her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have our reasons for attending college, and my kids are a big part of mine,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of Arianna Stone<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

[fruitful_sep]<\/p>\n

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Liz McClellan <\/b><\/p>\n

In 1991, Liz graduated high school and began her college education at Chemeketa Community College, planning to go into teaching. After a couple of years, she left, started working, then came back \u2014 this time at Portland Community College, where she got a degree in dental hygiene. <\/span><\/p>\n

For 21 years, she worked as a dental hygienist. During these years, she had her daughter, Annika, and her son, Liam. But, eventually, she was ready to go back to school to continue her education in teaching, taking one year online at Oregon State University, and the rest at Western Oregon. <\/span><\/p>\n

As a single mother, an obstacle she faced was trying to figure out how to support herself to go back to school. But luckily, she has a huge support system. So much so, that she keeps a list of all of the people who have been a support to her over the years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have a little notebook, and anytime I get help from someone or even a kind word \u2014 and my kids are on that list, too \u2026 as well as their dad, and step-mom \u2014 they go on the list, and the list is very long,\u201d said Liz. \u201cIt\u2019s not a solo journey.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Having the support of her children was incredibly important to Liz. When she was transitioning back into being a student, her whole family sat down to figure it out. The response she got from Annika and Liam made the transition easier.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI got their support to do this, so that really helped. But it\u2019s hard to miss things,\u201d said Liz. Her decision was not only supported by her children and family, but also by other moms.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of moms who had had children were like, \u2018You should just go for it, and don\u2019t worry about what anyone says.\u2019 And I just got some really good encouragement from other women. So that\u2019s what I want to do,\u201d said Liz. \u201cGo for it, you can do it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo by Caity Healy <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Contact the author at howleditor@wou.edu<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Caity Healy | Editor in Chief Mother\u2019s Day: A time to celebrate the maternal figures in our lives who have helped us reach the point we are at now. Whoever that person is for you, an important date is coming up. Falling on May 12 this year, this holiday gives us an opportunity to thank […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1094,"featured_media":10345,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"modified_by":"The Western Howl","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}