By Esteban Candelaria, Santa Fe New Mexican
July 18, 2024
As a full-time administrative assistant and college student who also has a 4-year-old boy, Isabella Jefferson has almost no time to herself.
Jefferson, a 31-year-old student at Santa Fe Community College, is working toward an associate degree with a goal of becoming a physical therapy assistant.
Her schedule is unforgiving. But she can’t take her eye off the prize she sees at the end — being a role model for her son and giving him a better life.
“Had I not found my husband and had a child, I wouldn’t be in school right now,” Jefferson said. “They both gave me the drive to become something better and not stick with dead-end jobs.”
A third of respondents to a statewide survey of college students said they were parents or expecting parents, according to results released Tuesday by Santa Fe Community College’s Early Childhood Center of Excellence. But many student parents said they aren’t getting the support they need, particularly when it comes to accessible child care.
Read more at the Santa Fe New Mexican