1 in 5 is back with a fresh batch of vibrant profiles of student-parents pursuing their education and excelling, while supporting families and working. Today, more than one in five college students are parents (22%). In these stories, we hear about their challenges, the creative ways they embrace collaboration, find unexpected solutions, and sacrifice to secure a better future for themselves and their families.
From Ascend at the Aspen Institute, 1 in 5 features in-depth conversations with student-parents and those who advocate for them in education, philanthropy, non-profits, and research—including Ascend’s Parent Advisors who inform our Postsecondary Success for Parents (PSP) Initiative.
Kevin Bremmond: Everything's harder when you're a parent, so, being a student is harder when you're a parent.
David Croom: Hi, I’m David Croom, from Ascend at the Aspen Institute. I’m also the host of 1-in-5 where we celebrate student-parents and the people who support them, like Kevin Bremmond.
Bremmond: All of the dads that we talk to, they want to be good parents. They want to be present. And I'm not just talking about, physically present. They want to support their children to reach their potential.
Croom: On the 1 in 5 podcast, we tell the remarkable stories of the 22 percent – or one in five – college students today who are also parents. In season two, we feature the determination, accomplishments, and resilience of student-parents past and present. Like Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin, who’s not afraid to challenge the misconceptions we have about student-parents.
Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin: I'm sure when we start talking about parents, that one of the parents that we are speaking about, if we collected the data that one of those parents or a few of those parents would've been incarcerated.
Croom: In their own words, student-parents like Ignacio Angel tell us about their barriers to pursuing a degree, and how they overcame them.
Ignacio Angel: I wanted to go to school, and I was like pushing myself to do it. And I just, you know, I didn't have these bumps on the road that made me feel like I couldn't do this and I shouldn't be here.
Croom: While educators like Daria Willis continue to mentor and open doors for the student-parents to come.
Daria Willis: This is my mission. Serving others, serving the underrepresented folks in society, serving people who look just like me, helping them make it to wherever it is, they say they want to be in life, we can help you get there.
Croom: Listen to 1 in 5, wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by LWC Studios for Ascend at the Aspen Institute.
CITATION:
Croom, David, host. “We’re still honoring the 1 in 5 college students who are parents. Welcome to season 2.” 1 in 5 Podcast, Ascend at Aspen Institute, November 1, 2022. Ascend.AspenInstitute.org.