Biology graduate student and parent George Brusch said juggling the finances associated with taking care of a 16-month-old child and working toward his doctorate is tricky.
Starting this year, Brusch and current ASU undergraduate and graduate students who have children and meet certain eligibility requirements will be able to apply for the Sun Devil Child Care Subsidy.
“It will be a huge help for my family,” Brusch said. “We are trying desperately not to get into too much student loan debt here. … I can’t tell you how much I appreciate ASU for getting in on this. This is huge.”
Other non-financial on-campus child care assistance programs are available to parents, but many are not feasible for parents.
“There is some child care on campus, but there is like a two-year wait-list. You have to go outside for this. … It’s still very expensive,” Brusch said.
Members of Graduate and Professional Student Association, ASU Family Resources and Undergraduate Student Government designed and mobilized the subsidy during a two-year span. The subsidy is worth $1,000 and approximately 75 students will receive it this year.
"We recognize that (parents) have responsibilities beyond that of some other students and we want to put our money where our mouth is and show them our support," GPSA President and counseling graduate student Pauline Venieris said. "We want parents to know that (the subsidy) exists for them and to apply because this is a pilot program.”
She said Senior Program Coordinator for Family Resources Maureen Duane, GPSA director of advocacy Tara Salehpour and herself were the primary contributors to the making of the subsidy.
Funding for the subsidy came from USG, GPSA, Family Resources and Educational Outreach Student Services.
Salehpour said ASU was the only four-year university in Arizona without a designated financial child care assistance program.
The only other child care financial assistance program, a grant from the Child Care Access Means Parents in School, was not renewed after 2013.
Meghan Nestel, co-chair of the Graduate Women’s Association Parent Subcommittee and an English graduate student, said parenting while in school is not easy.
“It’s a challenge, but I definitely found it worth it,” Nestel said. “We’ve been fortunate enough to make it work, but it’s a challenge.”
Applications for the Sun Devil Child Care Subsidy will be open until Oct. 30. For more information click here.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the major of Pauline Venieris, the funding for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School program and incorrectly attributed a fact. This version has been updated with the correct information.
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