UTRGV and the Student Parent Success Organization (SPSO) provide pregnant students and student parents with academic accommodations and a Family Study Room while advocating for their unique needs.
Integrated health sciences senior Eva De Jesus is the founder and president of the SPSO and mother of a 1-year-old boy.
De Jesus founded the organization in Fall 2023 in the hope of connecting with other student parents and supporting them with “the academic resources that UTRGV” offers.
“I founded this organization because I honestly felt like there wasn’t a lot of advocacy for student parents,” she said. “… I got inspired by other universities … to start a family study room at the library at UTRGV. So, I had to like, you know, get a lot of students to see if they were interested in having a space like that inspired by other universities.”
The UTRGV Family Study Room is located in Rooms 2.112 and 2.113 of the University Library on the Edinburg campus and is open to students, faculty and staff with children.
The study room has a computer, printer and educational toys and books for children.
“We just hope that this initiative will … bring more students,” De Jesus said. “That way they can connect and also … pursue their education further and just show the future generations that they can pursue higher education no matter what, and that the sky’s the limit.”
SPSO raised over $800 from donations and by selling kettle corn for the study room.
“As student parents, we show our kids that nothing is impossible,” De Jesus said. “By balancing books and bedtime stories, we prove that education and parenthood are a powerful combination. We plant the seeds of determination and growth.
“Through our dedication to education, we nurture those seeds, helping them bloom into a future where our children prioritize learning and believe that anything is possible.”
Students can join the organization through V Link.
Shawn P. Saladin, director of Student Accessibility Services, said he’s responsible for providing current and incoming student parents or pregnant students with information regarding accommodations available to them.
Saladin said under the Pregnancy and Parenting tab on the Student Accessibility Services website, students can find pregnancy and parenting forms with information regarding accommodations available to them.
The forms aim to help the university assess requests for academic accommodations related to pregnancy and parenting, including options like larger desks, excused absences, class breaks, deadline extensions and alternatives for making up missed work.
According to the Office of Title IX and Equal Opportunity, UTRGV is dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment free from discrimination, in line with Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination based on pregnancy, marital status, or parental status in various aspects of university life, including admissions, education and employment.
Saladin said UTRGV offers nursing mother suites to all faculty, staff and students to provide a comfortable and quiet location to breastfeed.
There are nine nursing mother suites throughout the Edinburg, Brownsville and Harlingen campuses. To access the suites, submit the request form to obtain a Mommy Card. The form can be found in the UTRGV Nursing Mother Suites website.
Laura Mendoza, a medical and health humanities sophomore, is a member of SPSO and mother of a 2-year-old boy. Mendoza said at first, she was not aware of the accommodations the university offers for student parents.
It is located in Rooms 2.112 and 2.113 of the University Library on the Edinburg campus. Angel Ballesteros/THE RIDER
“Quite honestly, I was embarrassed to ask for help because I’m a young parent,” she said. “And so, you know, how that sometimes goes culturally. But for the longest time, I did feel a little bit embarrassed, and I ended up finding out through … the banners [on myutrgv.edu] about the [Child Development Center].”
Mendoza said she faced a lot of difficulties due to day care issues. After she found out about the Child Development Center, she immediately applied and got accepted.
“I got availability for my son because they do have limited spots,” Mendoza said. “I was so quick to jump on it, and that has been the best thing for me so far with the Child Development Center.”
The center offers child care services to students, faculty and staff for children ages 3 months to 5 years.
According to its website, the center helps Pell-eligible, low-income student parents pay for child care services.
“I know there’s talks about wanting to open [a center] over there [in Brownsville],” said Krystal Saucedo, administrative assistant for the Child Development Center. “But as of … right now there hasn’t been any type of news, but that’s something that they are looking into and possibly doing in the future.”
For more information on the center, call 665-2469 or visit its website.
The Student Parent Success Organization’s purpose is to help student parents succeed in college.
“I have my own testimonies that it’s not the easiest to be a student and a parent on the same day,” Mendoza said. “You know, sometimes, our children need us on the same day but we are also here trying to take an exam on campus. … We are an organization. We are a community helping one another because … it takes a village to raise children.”
She said it is important to raise awareness about the accommodations available for student parents and pregnant students.
“Sometimes, we don’t even know that the person sitting next to us who probably doesn’t look like a parent is a parent who’s going through their own struggles,” Mendoza said.
Social work junior Alethea Garcia, who is mother of a 3-year-old boy and is currently expecting her second baby, said she has not used any of the accommodations UTRGV offers for student parents but is aware of them.
Garcia encourages student parents and pregnant students to not give up on their education just because they are expecting or have a child.
“Don’t stop,” she said. “They don’t have to stop or put their plans on hold just because they’re pregnant or they just had a baby, you know, there are resources out there available to help on anything. You could just talk to someone at the university and I’m pretty sure that they’ll help in any way that they can, which is amazing.”
