Nearly 30 years ago, 18-year-old LaRonda Brown-Chastang discovered adjusting to college life was a lot harder than she anticipated. Brown-Chastang was not a typical college freshman. Her first job was as a mom to her two-year-old son.
The demands of parenting a toddler and successfully balancing the rigors as a college student nearly drove Brown-Chastang to her breaking point. She needed support and, as much as she felt like there was no one out there who could relate to her situation, she knew she was not the first nor would she be the last student parent to pursue a degree at Michigan State University.
MSU’s student-parent population is roughly 3% of undergraduate and graduate students combined.
Brown-Chastang took it upon herself to start a support group for student parents, and it was that day in 1991 that Student Parents On a Mission, or SPOM, was born.
She registered SPOM as a campus organization, and it became official in August 1994. It began with four students and has grown to nearly 100.
There are many benefits to becoming a SPOM member: family fun events, parent meetings, scholarship awards and a holiday adoption program. SPOM allows student parents to make connections with other students and their families who are experiencing similar joys and struggles of raising children while attending MSU.
The Student Parent Resource Center, or SPRC, opened in January 2016 and houses Student Parents on a Mission. It is a student-centered office that provides support, resources, campus and community connections for all MSU student-parents through graduation and beyond.
The center assists student parents in achieving their goals, creating two-generation success and establishing long-term relationships with MSU.
The mission of the SPRC is to offer a supportive environment by providing resources for all student parents and their families on and off campus. The staff combines expertise and experience in college course instruction, academic advising and referrals to community resources for other services in addition to SPOM’s scholarship opportunities, activities and sense of community.
The SPRC provides a variety of services to students including:
- Advocacy for student families
- Education and Awareness on Title IX rights for pregnant and parenting students
- Academic and family support
- Guidance for communicating with faculty and advisers
- Financial Assistance for childcare, infant to age 12
- Support in researching quality childcare
- Lactation rooms for nursing mothers around campus
- Student Parents on a Mission peer organization
- Pre-finals childcare
- Community Resource Guide
- Student listserv with up-to-date information about community resources and opportunities for families
- Other services as needed and requested by student parents
SPRC is the recipient of the Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools grant sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to provide limited financial support to low-income student parents.
The grant, known as “Spartan Kids,” supported fifty-one children of MSU students in its first year by providing high-quality childcare and summer camp in East Lansing. To apply for Spartan Kids, students should contact sprc@msu.edu.
SPRC hosts various programs in support of student families like the ones that belong to SPOM. To date, the office has provided close to 10,000 diapers to student parents through a successful Diaper Drive.
The Holiday Gift Program coordinated by SPRC staff member, Laraine Walton, provides student families with clothing, toys, food, gift cards and household items. These items are generously donated by campus and community members.
SPOM’s supportive, fun community and SPRC’s initiatives are two resources that can provide student parents with support and a sense of community, so the challenges they face are not overlooked.
Student parents and expectant student parents are encouraged to contact the office via email at sprc@msu.edu or call 517-432-3745 to learn more.
Resource Guide for Students — The MSU Resource Guide for Students with children provides information on campus and community resources to meet a variety of needs. Click Resource Guide 2016-17 RG to access the guide.
Things to do at MSU — The MSU WorkLife Office publishes the Things to Do at MSU guide for families. The publication offers a listing of various events and programs of interest on the MSU campus that are family-friendly and fun!