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Student Parent

The Cost of Poverty, the Fight for Families, and the Power of College

Author: Nicole Lynn Lewis

A vital call to disrupt systemic forces that impoverish families and to reimagine accessible higher education, empowering parents to thrive in college and at home

From the former teen mom and award-winning founder of Generation Hope, a nonprofit committed to expanding education access for young parents and all caregivers

For countless American families, the promise of the “American Dream” rings hollow. They are caught in a cycle of limited opportunity, battling the sociopolitical forces that sustain generational poverty. These are parents and caregivers who yearn for a better life for their children, a reality Nicole Lynn Lewis intimately understands from her own journey as a teen mother.

Student Parent is Lewis’s unflinching yet profoundly hopeful investigation into the systemic obstacles that impede marginalized parents’ access to education, career advancement, and true economic mobility. Crucially, this book moves beyond identifying problems to present transformative, actionable solutions that break through access barriers in higher education.

Weaving insights from child and family health experts with vivid personal stories, Lewis outlines pathways for change to support families striving on the fringes. She champions practices like:

subsidizing on-campus childcare
accommodating students facing childcare, transportation, and other challenges
establishing campus food pantries and destigmatizing their use

Student Parent isn’t just a book about policy; it’s a powerful testament to resilience and an advocate’s guide for dismantling inequality. Lewis has an inspiring vision of an America where education is a right and generational wealth for all is a reality. This book shows us that investing in our student parents is a critical step on the path toward that bright future.