Victoria McKenzie/ Winonan

Although the idea of parenting while in college may seem foreign to many students, there are student parents at Winona State University who must deal with the stress of being full-time students as well as full time parents.

Debra Hammel, the coordinator of the Student Parent Program, goes to high schools to send teen-parents the message that Winona State University has resources available for support.

“We care about student parents, and we are going to help you through it,” Hammel said.

Hammel works in close partnership with June Reineke, the director of the WSU Children’s Center. They work to better the lives of student parents and their children by providing convenient child care close to campus and support groups to help them a both parents and students

The Children’s Center has been in place for 40 years and has received many state and federal grants to aid its work.

In 2002, Winona State received its first federal grant to support student parents’ costs of child care.

Reineke said,“It took a huge burden off their family budgets, so we saw our retention rate go from just over fifty percent to ninety-eight percent.”

The Children’s Center just recently opened a new infant room using grant money they recieved. The process to open the new room took a condsiderate amount of time and money. The center received its first grant for the room in 2011 from the Department of Human Resources in Winona. The next grant came federally to enable the center to cover the costs of childcare for student parents who are found eligible through FAFSA, which most student parents are.

The money went to remodeling a peschooler room into the infant room.

One of the longest parts of the process was finding an infant teacher for the room who specializes in early childhood development and has experience.

Currently nine babies of Winona students are enrolled for care. The center is licensed to care for twelve babies in the room, but their target number to have in the room at any time is ten.

Once the babies are 16-to-20-months old, they are transitioned into the toddler room.

The majority of parents are students, but due to the federal aid, the center must also give priority to veterans.

The workers in the center are also primarily students, except for the main teachers in each room. Most of the student workers are nursing or early education majors, as well as other related fields.

Since the center cannot afford to pay students workers the on-campus minimum wage, each year Student Senate gives part of the student activities fund to help increase their earning and also aid the students parents who do not qualify for the grant.

Winona State continues to provide support for student parents in further developing the children’s center.