La Voz

Media Credit: Graphic by Marianne Kim / La Voz [Click to enlarge]

Lixin Liu sits and counts ducks with her four-year-old son Justin at De Anza College's Child Development Lab. Liu is one of the countless "stay at school moms" at De Anza.

These women made the decision to balance their full schedule with work, school and raising a young family.

Liu is a full-time nursing major at De Anza. She is currently taking thirteen units with an average of 12 to 17 units per quarter.

When Liu isn't attending classes at the college, she is working in De Anza's Admissions and Records.

Even though she has a demanding major, she finds time to work twenty to thirty-five hours a week to support herself and family. She said this leaves little time to see her son and she tries to free up her weekends to spend with him.

Liu is transferring to California State University Hayward next year, but Justin will stay at De Anza. She will be able to utilize the daycare service in the Child Development Center because her husband works in the area.

Liu said she would miss her son because she knows she won't be as close to him as before.

Marguerite Kasongo, another "stay at school mom," has the opposite problem. She doesn't know where her son is going to go next year. Her son is turning five and will need to go to kindergarten and leave De Anza.

"I will miss the fact that he is just in another building on campus. Right now, if something is wrong or he is sick, they can call me and I'll walk right over to the center. This won't be the case once he is in a different school," Kasongo said.

It will also make things harder because right now we go to school together and leave together, she said.

Kasongo is taking thirteen units and is in the Medical Assistant Program. She is enrolled in an English as a Second Language class and other classes. She is planning to get a degree in the Medical Assistant Program.

Besides being a full time student, Marguerite is looking for work and taking care of her three children, two of whom live with her. This leaves little time for her to organize and schedule a plan for the upcoming year.

This is a common problem for "stay at school moms". Many are fortunate enough to be able to use the programs in the Child Development Center but others would have to find alternative care either because of their child's age or because of the cost.

These mothers are everywhere, whether it's in the classroom, cafeteria or behind a counter at the cashiers' office. Even though they balance a precarious and full schedule, many couldn't tell them apart from the other students on campus.

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