By Sebastian Ortega 18’
Have you asked yourself if having a child will affect your education? Well here’s some advice from Aimee Pedroza, a 2013 Pritzker graduate.
Aimee is attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and started as a psychology major, but switched over to Elementary Education. Aimee found out she was pregnant before she ended her junior year of college and it impacted her education.
How Aimee’s pregnancy affected her
When Aimee found out she was pregnant, she worried about the future. As a second-semester Junior she shared, “I thought an unexpected pregnancy would make me dropout or finish school later. I also started thinking about whether or not I wanted to go through with my pregnancy (abortion or keeping the baby).” Aimee decided to keep the baby. Her supervisor in the Education Department helped her set up a plan so she could take the most credits possible. Having to work harder because of her pregnancy, Aimee said, “My supervisor placed me in an elementary school that is year round.” By student teaching at a school year-around and then skipping into classes after she gave birth, Aimee will finish her classes on time.
How Pritzker prepared Aimee
Pedroza mentioned the impact that Pritzker had when making decisions. She knew that she needed to speak up about her pregnancy in order to finish college on time, Pedroza stated, “I felt the help I needed back when I was a freshman in high school. I was very shy to seek help from my teachers because I did not want to seem like a bother to them.” Pritzker taught her to not be afraid to ask questions. She learned how to talk through the problems she faced.
How did Aimee manage her time having a child?
Aimee will graduate in May 2018 her parents and husband help her while she’s doing her school work. She manages her time by “facetiming my classes, turning in any essays, and attending appointments I have scheduled for my daughter.” To save money Aimee worked on the weekends at Express. She comes every Saturday to Chicago for doctor appointments. With one school semester left Aimee shares, “It is not very easy! It is hard!” However Aimee is on track to graduate within the elementary education degree despite having a baby in college.
Conclusions
- Being pregnant during college is difficult.
- You need to manage your time in order to finish strong.
- Never give up and be yourself.
- Communicate with the right people who are going to help you through challenges.
