For many students at Michigan State University, the end of class is not the end of their day. They shift into a caregiver or parent role, responsible for the lives and well-being of their loved ones. Balancing academic life with caregiving responsibilities can feel overwhelming. That’s why the Student Parent Resource Center is a vital resource for Spartans on campus. The SPRC offers guidance, support and a welcoming community for student parents, caregivers and their families on and off campus.

Through personalized, in-person, virtual and on-campus consultations, the center also connects student caregivers with essential resources. This includes mental health services, diaper programs, state benefits, scholarships and grants. Many of these programs are made possible through institutional, federal and state support.

This spring, the SPRC celebrated MSU Student Caregivers Week with two events aimed to foster support and raise awareness around student parents and caregivers experiences. On March 25, the SPRC hosted a student caregiver resource dinner, followed by a faculty and staff lunch and learn March 27 at the Multicultural Center. These events were brought to life by Kimberly Steed-Page, the director of SPRC and Jodi Roberto-Hancock, the neighborhood director for Student Success. They were designed to foster a sense of belonging and community for student parents and caregivers, while educating faculty and staff to better support this unique demographic of students. Although caregiving is often an invisible identity, MSU offers a range of identity-based services that play a critical role in supporting this student population. 

From Daughter to Director of Student Parents

Steed-Page spent the past 24 years at MSU serving as a trauma-informed, student-centered educator and practitioner. She focuses on supporting students’ and families' emotional, physical and mental well-being to help them achieve graduation.

Steed-Page’s advocacy for student caregivers and parents grows from her own childhood experience. With limited access to childcare resources, she often accompanied her mother to class. Lacking the support she needed, her mother was ultimately unable to complete her degree – a reality many student parents face today. Steed-Page has since dedicated her career to preventing that reality for others at MSU. 

With a master’s in social work and decades of experience in higher education, Steed-Page believes students' struggles aren’t only academic, they’re life related. Health issues, financial pressures, work responsibilities and family care can prevent students from being successful. Student parents without a childcare grant average a 3.1 GPA, while student parents with the grant average a 3.7. When students get the support and resources they need, they succeed.

Student parents are parents first, so the more support they receive, the more time they have to study, attend office hours and take part in campus organizations. Helping student caregivers and parents also means helping their families thrive. This includes empowering low-income students to achieve financial stability and teaching English to international relatives.

“Academics is what got us here. Belonging is what keeps people engaged and pushes them through,” says Steed-Page. “MSU is a place for all of us, and all the identities we hold and pick up along the way.”

SPOM To The Rescue

Almost every student knows a peer who is a caregiver. The Student Caregiver Resource Dinner was held March 25 at the Multicultural Center, allowing student caregivers to connect and build a supportive community. The dinner was catered by Woody’s Oasis, and featured games for children and goodie bags, including snacks, toys, candy and stickers. Students from undergraduate to Ph.D. programs, along with their children, ranging from four months to 18 years old attended the dinner.

Kyli Corder, an advertising management junior, attended the event with her 4-year-old son, Jamison. Corder is an educator at Douglas J Aveda Institute and an active member of MSU’s Marketing Association, Public Relations Student Society of America, Women in Advertising and Communications and Student Parents on a Mission. She’s a full-time student maintaining a 3.8 GPA and raising two children. Balancing her son's soccer, football and basketball schedules, club commitments, classwork and the cost of childcare became difficult, so she turned to SPRC for help.

“I was getting ready to drop out of school because I was paying $320 a week in daycare. It was so expensive I couldn’t afford it,” says Corder. “Daycare was a huge challenge until Student Parents on a Mission told me about [the childcare] grant. Without the grant I wouldn’t be in school right now.”

Student Parents on a Mission is a registered student organization through the SPRC that offers parenting and financial assistance and academic resources as well as hosts family-friendly events. SPOM helped Corder secure a childcare grant, allowing her son to attend a daycare right across from campus. Now, her son Jamison looks forward to visiting MSU’s campus and telling his daycare friends that it's where his mom goes to school.

“The reason I started my degree is because I was a single mom, and I had my cosmetology license but I didn’t have a college degree. I didn’t want my son growing up thinking that wasn’t achievable,” says Corder. “Don’t give up on your goals even if you have mom guilt. At the end of the day, the lesson you’re teaching them is invaluable.”

Caregiving Is An Identity

Education doesn’t stop at students, it extends to faculty and staff as well. SPRC hosted the lunch and learn to share the experiences and challenges of student caregivers and how university personnel can better support them. Faculty and staff in various colleges, departments, backgrounds and communities attended. Steed-Page kicked off the afternoon with a presentation encouraging attendees to consider student identities beyond race and ethnicity to include parenting and caregiving roles. 

Student caregivers are individuals balancing education with responsibilities caring for others, often children, elderly parents, family members with disabilities or sick partners. According to national data, about 4.8 million college students are hidden caregivers, caring for adult family members. About 15-24% of those are caring for adults with chronic illness, disability or another health condition. These students often feel invisible and excluded from conversations as their needs are distinct from those of student parents. 

This reality is one Myah Frazier experienced firsthand. Frazier is a senior studying microbiology and has been a student caregiver since her freshman year. She cares for her father who was diagnosed with ALS, a terminal illness. Each weekend, Frazier drives home to take care of her father, assisting him every step of the way. She helped him transition from using a cane to relying on a wheelchair, setting up breathing devices and feeding tubes, administering medication and operating equipment such as a hoyer lift and CPAP machine.

During the week, Frazier works as a research assistant, attends classes and completes assignments so she can dedicate her weekends to spending time with her dad. To do so, she sacrifices parts of her college experience to prioritize his care of his well-being. 

“It’s been a huge commitment as he’s gotten sicker, and I’ve gotten busier,” says Frazier. “But just being with him and understanding his needs means a lot to me — to just be part of his life.”

Frazier attended the resource dinner and the lunch and learn, where she connected with Steed-Paige and Roberto-Hancock. They followed up by reaching out to the dean to find other student caregivers with similar experiences and shared a link to the Supporting our Spartans fund to help cover travel expenses.

Frazier decided to attend both SPRC events because of the challenges she faced when seeking support. After considering taking a gap year to care for her father, she reached out to her advisor for support. However, they were unaware of the available resources and referred her to the Resource Center for Persons With Disabilities. This inspired Frazier to speak at the lunch and learn, to share her experiences and raise awareness around the challenges student caregivers face. She emphasized the importance of educating faculty and staff to support students who hold a caregiving identity. Expanding awareness is essential to ensuring student caregivers receive all the support they need to succeed.

“Speaking to student caregivers and staff has given me a lot of hope and gratitude,” said Frazier. “It’s allowed me to be vulnerable and share my story to people who want to hear it and who can understand and help.”

To Be Seen, Heard and Supported 

Student caregivers and parents at MSU embody resilience, balancing academics with the emotional and physical responsibilities of caring for loved ones. The stories of Corder and Frazier highlight the challenges faced by many in this community and the support SPRC can offer. Thanks to the dedication of advocates like Steed-Page and Roberto-Hancock, events like Student Caregivers Week not only bring visibility to this often-overlooked identity but also advance MSU’s mission to ensure every student is seen, heard and supported.

By recognizing caregiving as a student identity, MSU is building a more inclusive and supportive campus, one where students no matter their situation have the opportunity to thrive. 

Learn more about the SPRC here: studentparents.msu.edu. 

Author: Olivia Williams