On a bright day in early October, Monique Cortes, a peer advisor and culinary student at Diablo Valley College, brought her 5-year old daughter, Mia, to the Commons where she got to know the campus alongside dozens of other children of DVC students and faculty at Bring Your Kids to College Day.
Cortes, a single mom, said she appreciated the ability to show her daughter the school where she studies.
“She’s getting to know the staff and the people that I work with, and the other kids that come to the events,” she said at the Oct. 9 event.
Cortes pointed out the challenges of balancing academics and motherhood. “You have to be a master juggler,” she said. In addition to putting in long hours of study, she said “you’re responsible for somebody, their wellbeing, and taking care of every aspect of their life.”
Another mother, Nayela Hernandez, a health science major at DVC, reflected on her daughter Naja’s experience at Bring Your Kids to College Day.
“This is good, introducing her to the college environment, to the campus, so I know she could feel safe coming back here in the future,” Hernandez said, imagining out loud about her daughter’s own college career beginning “thirteen more years from now.”
Hernandez added that she enjoyed seeing Naja feel included and supported by the school. “DVC is very hands-on with student parents, very informative, very take-action,” she said.
The all-day event, led by DVC’s Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education (CARE) and California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS) programs, provided an opportunity to connect children and parents to the services and programs available to them on campus.
Among the services and programs offered were spaces to learn at the DVC library, which has children’s books and activities for kids whose parents are studying, and an invitation to sign up for library cards at the Contra Costa County Public Library.
During the afternoon, many kids tackled a life-sized version of Connect Four at the family festival in the Commons area, where they also enjoyed the thrill of bouncy houses and ice cream.
“It was awesome to see bright smiling faces and hear little giggles across campus all day,” said Rachel Luna, program manager of CARE, CalWORKS and Foster Youth Services, and the event’s coordinator.
According to Luna, the event was especially geared toward serving families disproportionately impacted by basic needs, insecurities and barriers to academic success.
She said she hopes the day inspired some little ones to go to college—and to hopefully one day become future DVC students.
“We hope this showcases for student parents and all members of the DVC community that higher education can transform lives and communities multiple generations at a time,” Luna said.
Standing beside her daughter, Mia, Cortes added that despite the time it’s taking her to get her degree, all of her work is rewarding in the end.
“The best job I have is being a mom,” she said.