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Feature Story | Tell us your story! |
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 BackA Single Father Making it Through College Hello, my name is Doug Sick. I am a single father to a wonderful six-year-old and a non-traditional student at Iowa State University (ISU). I still remember laughing at my professor at George Washington University when he said it would be hard to come back if I left school. That was thirteen years ago. Last fall I quit my job of nine years, moved 120 miles into a very small apartment and started school. My son, Devon, started kindergarten. It was a big change for both of us. A year before I started classes, I registered Devon for after-school daycare (I was still placed on a waiting list). I did not attend the school's orientation before classes started; I couldn't take time off of work. I did attend the non-traditional orientation a week after classes started (free daycare - who wouldn't go?). In the week before school, I moved, applied for AFDC, and enrolled in the Promise Jobs program. Upon applying for Section 8 rental, I found that the university family housing did not qualify for the program. By the end of my first semester, I was scrounging for money for rent and my son was kicked off of the school bus so I had to miss Calculus to take him to daycare. I started the second semester on academic probation and retaking that Calculus class. Devon was riding the bus again and things were going very well. Received a housing voucher and moved two blocks into a place half again as big for $360 less per month. After spring break my luck turned again. Devon's asthma acted up and for three weeks I missed class. He was kicked off the bus again a week later. It was through the help of other students and the people at the Dean of Students office that I finished this semester (and with a 3.0 GPA). During this semester, I became involved in the Older Adults Succeeding in School (OASIS), our non-traditional student group. Helped write the constitution, get office space (a cubical, actually reminds me of that first apartment), and received funding from the student government. We are currently working on a fundraiser and working with the student body government to provide childcare during the night exams of daytime classes. Summer classes start on the 21st. I'm looking forward to it and the finishing of my degree in a couple more years. |
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Doug Sick, with Devon Iowa State University Bachelor's, Mechanical Engineering |
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