1 in 5

An episode of firsts! Our first live episode recorded at the inaugural Ascend Parent Advisor Convening in Aspen, CO in front of an audience of student parents. Co-hosts David Croom and Dr. Daria Willis (President, Howard Community College) are joined by former guests Michaela Martin, Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin, and Ariel Ventura-Lazo to reflect on their journeys and share their dreams and recommendations for the future of the student parent movement.

What does college success look like for Black and Native student parents? Dr. Deana Around Him and Julian Thompson shed light on student parents’ and administrators’ experiences at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs, and Tribal Colleges and Universities, or TCUs. In conversation with David Croom, Associate Director for the Postsecondary Success for Parents initiative at Ascend, they discuss how Ascend’s new Black and Native Family Futures Fund is advancing student parent success on these campuses and what other colleges can learn from HBCUs’ and TCUs’ institutional cultures.

Julian Thompson is Director of Strategy at UNCF’s Institute for Capacity Building, and Dr. Deana Around Him is a 2022 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellow and senior research scholar at Child Trends.

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Growing up, Isis Patterson and her family were constantly operating in survival mode. School offered her the safety and security she lacked at home, so she took a liking to it. When she found out she was pregnant at 15, she kept herself immersed in her schoolwork, graduated with honors, and received a full-ride scholarship to college. Driven by her own experiences with housing insecurity, she studied public policy as an undergraduate student, and pursued housing equity work, leading her to want to better understand the root causes of housing instability. But a graduate program involved financial risk, and she needed affordable housing, childcare, and a tuition package to make her dream feasible. Fortunately, Isis secured housing on an income-based sliding scale, and was able to lean on the support of friends and mentors to pursue a Masters Degree in Urban Planning at Harvard University.  Isis is again balancing being a mom and a student, with the same motivation in mind—the future of her children. Reporter Lisa Bartfai brings us Isis’ story of overcoming generational poverty, achieving educational success, and always striving for more for her family and her community.

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As a child of immigrants, Lourdes saw the efforts her hard-working parents made to give her a memorable childhood, and how they always stressed the importance of education. Then, in high school, Lourdes became pregnant, and the birth of her daughter inspired her aspirations for higher education, leading her to a career in nursing. As a single mother and nursing assistant, Lourdes was spending all of her time caretaking—at work and at home—and found herself living paycheck to paycheck. But Lourdes’ hard work didn’t go unnoticed, and with encouragement from her peers, she enrolled in a nursing program at her local community college. Local El Paso groups like Project ARRIBA and Workforce Borderplex gave Lourdes the training, resources, and financial support she needed to stay the course.  Reporter Andrea Henderson follows Lourdes’ higher education journey from the delivery room to the graduation stage.

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Nicole Alkire Grady always excelled in athletics and academics at Standing Rock High School in North Dakota. But being a survivor of childhood sexual abuse meant Nicole turned to dating, and eventually alcohol, to cope with the trauma. In high school, she became a mother, and worked hard to graduate – leaning on the support of her family and especially her mother. She was determined to go to college, and tried several options to find a place with the right support for her growing family. She eventually found help for her substance abuse, and reconnected with her Lakota values, and is pursuing a legal career. Reporter Ambriehl Crutchfield follows Nicole’s journey in higher education.

Anyone affected by sexual assault, whether it happened to you or someone you care about, can find support on the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.

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Today, Nicole Lynn Lewis is an accomplished author, CEO, and mother of five. But she didn’t always feel a sense of stability and pride. She was raised to prioritize her education and had been accepted into several colleges when she learned that she was pregnant. When she arrived on campus with her three-month old daughter, she instantly felt out of place and didn’t know who to turn to for help. Her feelings of isolation, financial stress, and a lack of community later inspired Nicole to create her nonprofit, Generation Hope, that supports the mental health journeys of student-parents. In this episode, reporter Sophia Fox-Sowell talks with Nicole about her organization and how its two-generational approach is helping other parents achieve educational success.

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Dominique Baker married her high school sweetheart and planned to pursue a degree in social work, but her first semester in college proved to be both financially and mentally exhausting. As her family grew and Dominique took stock of the things she wanted for herself and her two children, she made the decision to leave her husband at age 25 and focus on her family’s future. She was inspired by a friend to return to school for a medical billing degree back home in Michigan. The move posed many challenges, and when a close family member passed away unexpectedly, Dominique had a mental breakdown. She faced housing insecurity and even made the best of living in a shelter while studying. And when she sought support from family and the help of professionals, she was able to get through one of the darkest periods of her life, and develop the tools to stay focused on her educational goals. Reporter Brenda León shares Dominique’s story.

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Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin was taught to always take care of those around her, but didn’t always see education as a way of doing so. After dropping out of school and later finding herself incarcerated and pregnant, Yolanda became determined to change the course of her life. Once she was released, Yolanda focused on establishing a relationship with her son, all while juggling two jobs and school. As she continues to reach new professional and educational heights, Yolanda draws on her experiences to uplift others and create opportunities for formerly incarcerated women. Reporter Ava Ahmadbeigi follows Yolanda’s journey through incarceration, motherhood and higher education.

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Drayton Jackson experienced homelessness for almost 20 years. Today, Drayton utilizes his lived experience to advocate for others in a similar position—but it wasn’t always easy adjusting to having a seat at the table.  Drayton, now the father of eight, is setting boundaries and goals for himself to achieve a healthy work-life balance. Along with running two foundations and being a community leader, Drayton continues to work towards his educational goals of earning a college degree. In this follow-up of his story from season one, reporter Diana Opong checks in with Drayton to get an update on the activist’s accomplishments.

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Soren’s interest in higher education has always been rooted in an interest in the environment, even from childhood. As an adult, after struggling with their own mental health, Soren became interested in psychology, and pursued jobs in the medical field, but was soon discouraged by the for-profit medical system. Soren went through challenging transitions in their life–a cross country move, the birth of their son, and coming out as a non-binary person. When they moved to Minnesota, Soren regained clarity of what they wanted to pursue, and they went back to school for environmental studies at the University of Minnesota. As a single parent, Soren was hardly making ends meet when someone from their university contacted them about emergency grants, many specifically for queer parents. With the support of the university’s Student Parent HELP center and a local foundation, Raise the Barr, Soren is launching their academic career with the hope of helping future generations, like their son’s, to live healthier lives. Reporter Natalie Rivera brings us Soren’s story.

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