Page 4
Program Profile : Students with Children Conference
James Stewart is the Assistant Director of Adult Student Affairs at DePaul University . He can be contacted at jstewa34 @ depaul . edu
By James G . Stewart
DePaul University has a long history of serving a wide diversity of students , including adult learners . Currently over 25 % of the undergraduate population is over 24 years old .
Realizing the unique needs of students who have children , who can be adult learners or traditional aged , DePaul ’ s office of Adult , Veteran , and Commuter Student Affairs sought out to host a Conference for Students with Children .
This one-day conference first held in May 2013 had sessions on a variety of topics and keynote addresses . The sessions provided valuable opportunities for collaboration across the campus . Presenting partners included University Ministry , University Center for Writing Based Learning , , School of Public Health , the office of the Dean of Students , and more . Example sessions included “ Spirituality and your family , “ Workout to Chill-out ,” “ Tutoring and Your Child ,” and “ Selecting a Pre-School or Kindergarten ”
An important aspect of busy studentparents being able to devote a Saturday to attend a program such as this was the availability of child-care . The office worked with the Ray Mayer Fitness Center at DePaul ( which regularly offers drop-off babysitting to users ) to offer childcare during the conference .
The conference was a wonderful success . Students and their guests all raved in evaluations at not only the knowledge gained , but the ability to network with other similar students .
In order to keep the momentum going , several of students are currently working to start a registered student organization to continue ongoing learning and networking for students with children .
The office also complied a comprehensive resource guide distributed to each student attendee . It contained not only DePaul resources , but also community resources of interest . The guidebook was considered such a success the office printed copies for distribution at orientations and other events all throughout the year .
DePaul plans to host the conference annually , and staff responsible will work with the soon to be student club to continue the success .
Haydee Nunez , Director of Adult , Veteran and Commuter Student Affairs addresses attendees at the inaugural Conference for Students with Children at DePaul University .