“Nontraditional” is a label applied to undergraduate college students who do not fit the model of a traditional full-time student between the ages of 18 to 24 years. However, there is a broad spectrum of issues that further complicate the journey to a degree for many nontraditional students. Working class and lower-middle class students find many obstacles when trying to obtain a college degree – location, transportation, and affordability, to name a few. Add in being a single parent, and they have a whole other batch of additional obstacles to overcome – childcare while attending class, fitting in study time, and affording to provide for their children’s short-term needs while working to provide a better life for them in the long run. Nontraditional single student parents are often an amalgamation of parent, student, and employee; without adequate supports, the stress of filling these roles can lead to a significant number of them dropping out within their first year. What are the obstacles impacting student parents’ success in higher education, and how can they be overcome? I hypothesize that parent students can succeed in higher education with adequate supports in financial aid, inclusive campus organizations, and childcare. 

I used to love writing prior to the death of my husband. I used to love reading as well, but after the trauma of my sudden loss it was extremely hard to focus. I would read and re-read the same page, and not absorb a word of it. As someone who used to read a minimum of two novels a week, it was very frustrating. Now that I am four years out (and remarried), I am finding joy in reading again, so I am optimistic the joy in writing will show up at some point, as well. 

I often struggle with anxiety and indecision when writing now, lacking a clear voice or vision. I find it difficult to write things on a timeline, as I wait for the flow of words to direct me. I understand that is not how the writing process works in college, but I am crippled by it all the same. Occasionally, the genie pops out of the bottle, and I can pull together a fairly decent paper. Typically, I just procrastinate until I am up against the wall of a deadline, then panic-write. 

Three times, I have taken College Writing II, and two times, I have Withdrawn. My first two aborted attempts were with professors who had more of an interest in creative writing, but not the process of writing APA, which I desperately needed to learn for my Psychology Writing Intensive this Fall (which I also withdrew from in the Spring Semester due to being clueless when it came to APA). I almost dropped a Forensic Psychology class this Summer because the syllabus said if you didn’t know how to write in APA, you would have a rough time passing the class. My professor reassured me that she would go easy on me so I wouldn’t drop the class. Dr. Wetzl taught me enough APA right off the bat that I have received high marks on my Forensic Psych writing assignments. I’m afraid Dr. Tabak will find me disingenuous now!  I hope not, seeing as how I will have her for the Writing Intensive. 

My friend (Melissa Whiddon) had told me that I NEEDED to take Writing II with Dr. Wetzl, and she was right. Dr. Wetzl has explained the APA style of writing in a way that I finally grasped (mostly…). When I found out that my daughter’s friend had another professor for Writing I this Fall, I encouraged her to switch to Dr. Wetzl’s class because I feel having the ability to teach without being condescending is a gift. For a student to be able to say to their professor, “I’m not sure, can you explain that again?”, and the professor patiently explain it instead of treating them like an idiot, now that is a thing of beauty. 

I enjoyed the discussions on Putnam’s book, and I have a confession to make – I actually had purchased Putnam’s earlier book, Bowling Alone, after a recommendation from a classmate in my Intersession class on Stress & Coping. I had never heard of the man before this Summer, and now I’m doubling down on Putnam! I will be thinking about some of the people profiled in Our Kids for a long time to come. 

As far as “What else should we have covered?”, I have no idea. I feel we covered a lot in this class, and in a short time, too! 

I will utilize the knowledge I gained in this class for quite a long time. As a Psych major, I will be required to write often in APA, especially in grad school. Afterwards, not so much, according to my psychologist friends (unless I decide to become a researcher). I am also more comfortable using the online writing lab, which is a valuable resource I was a little ashamed to use up until this class. I will use it in the future, although I regretfully did not use it for Essay 3 because of the procrastination factor.