Students with children and the struggles they face

The idea for this story started with a conversation with a woman who's daughter is in my niece's daycare class. I noticed when I was picking up my niece that she had a Towson sweatshirt on. I told her that I attend school there and she told me of her plans to start attending in the fall. Her name is Alexandra Ciola and her one-year-old daughter's name is Jayden. She is currently supporting Jayden as a single mother while she attends Essex Community College full time.

Before having a chance to talk with her I had never considered what it would be like to juggle school with the responsibilities of a parent.

After doing some digging I set up a meeting with the head of university childcare at Towson and learned the details of a wonderful system. Daycare at Towson came out of necessity and on the wings of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Harriet Durthirt (director of university childcare) was wonderful to interview. She had so much insight on the entire program because she had been with it since its birth.

What I hoped to do with this story was give a different student perspective. Please take a moment to listen and you decide if I achieved what I set out to do.

Check Out My Feature Story!

The story is called: "Student discovers piece of mind," and it is a something that I am very proud of.

It is a profile of Towson student Erin Brennan who fought back stress with exercise and a positive outlook. Her story is inspiring and has the potential to be very helpful for someone who is going through a similar situation.

Patrick Cully, another Towson student, and Sara Van Leuven, a yoga instructor are also featured in the story. Both sources allow for a range of perspectives from different demographics. Hopefully you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Audio Story Idea- Students and Mothers

For my audio story I would like to bring to light an important minorty of Towson students: single parents. I will interview a single mother who juggles the demanding scheduals of both a full time student and a parent. I will also interview the head of the club Students with Children. I would really like to showcase the hard work it takes to have the title of both a parent and a college student and the affect it has on both parent and child.

I would also like to look into the resourses that the campus provides for student parents, such as daycare and emotional support.

Alec Bradley Sutorius, 4, wearing his mom's glasses. Picture by Alissa Sutorius

Talk it Out- Broadcast Leads

1.) Print Editon: In one of the most important business cases in years, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a drug company is not protected from injury claims in state court merely because the federal government had approved the product and its labeling. From the article: "Drug Approval Is Not a Shield From Lawsuits, Justices Rule." Nytimes.
Broadcast Style: The Supreme Court rules against the injury claims of a drug company even though the government approved its packaging.

2.) Print Edition: Mike Fleiss said Wednesday that producers of the ABC dating show did not create the outcome of Monday's season finale that prompted viewer outrage when Mesnick dumped his first choice for the runner-up and was the highest rated show in its time slot, 8-10 p.m. EST, with 15.45 million viewers. From the article: "Producer: 'Bachelor' finale wasn't fixed."
The Baltimore Sun

Broadcast Style: You can relax. The hit TV show 'The Bachelor,' is not fiction, Jason Mesnick made a mess without the help of producers.

3.)Print Edition: State road crews prepared for a late-season storm that began with wet flakes about 7:30 p.m. yesterday. From the artilce: "Road crews on alert for late-season storm."

Broadcast Style: Road crews are starting early in anticipation of snow fall.