College students who are parents get a boost from FamilyU
A new partnership with Generation Hope is changing campus culture to better serve students who are raising children.
If you ask Mariyah Younger what she’s most proud of, she’ll tell you it’s her three children and her journey as a college student. At Metropolitan State University of Denver, she says, she has finally found a place where she can succeed at both.
“Usually, it’s one or the other — you’re either a parent or a college student,” said Younger, a senior majoring in Communication Studies with a minor in Anthropology. “The blending of these identities has been an eye-opener.”
Younger is the new student fellow for the FamilyU program, a national initiative from the nonprofit Generation Hope that supports parenting students through a two-year training and consulting partnership with higher-education institutions. MSU Denver is one of five universities selected to participate in the program, which focuses on improving policies, resources and support systems for parenting students.
As a student fellow, Younger collaborates with teams across the University, including Student Affairs, Financial Aid, Facilities, Faculty Affairs and Diversity and Inclusion, to identify opportunities for systemic change. Some of her key projects involve advocating for more-inclusive language in University policies, promoting designated family-friendly spaces on campus and helping to develop an online hub for parenting student resources.
Younger began her academic journey at MSU Denver in 2013 but left after feeling unsupported and unsure of how to navigate the system. Her attempt to return in 2019 was stalled by Covid-19. Eventually, she completed her associate degree and reenrolled at MSU Denver, where she is now on track to graduate next spring.
As a nontraditional student, Younger sees her role as a liaison between parenting students and the institution. “My goal is to create a space that says, ‘You belong, and you are welcome here,’” she said.
The Student Engagement and Well-being Department manages the FamilyU program with support from leaders such as Will Simpkins, Ed.D., vice president for Student Affairs, and Taylor Tackett, associate vice president for Student Engagement and Well-being and dean of students.
“Parenting students tend to be some of the most resilient students,” Tackett said. “It may take them five, six, even seven years because they’re doing one course at a time, but they stick with it and they graduate.”
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The program focuses on four pillars: data, policy, people and community. MSU Denver’s involvement builds on its longstanding commitment to serve parenting and caregiving students, and the initiative offers an opportunity to strengthen that support through policy audits, inclusive practices and targeted engagement.
“We want MSU Denver to be a destination of choice for student parents — a place where they know they’ll be seen and supported,” said Kristen Lyons, Ph.D., Psychology professor and faculty representative on the FamilyU team.
In its first year, the program introduced a self-identification option for parenting students during orientation and created a dedicated email contact for parenting-student resources, as well as a dedicated webpage. Additional plans include surveying current MSU Denver parenting students to learn about their experiences and needs that MSU Denver can better work to address; and planning events for Student Parent Awareness month in September.
“This is about more than just a program,” Lyons said. “It’s about changing the culture so student parents feel empowered to succeed.”
For Younger, that cultural shift is already making a difference, and it’s something she believes her children will carry with them.
“When your children get to see you accomplish something that’s so big, they get that hope: ‘I can do that too,’” she said.
