Single mom juggles school, work and parenting from MWSU Campus Watch on Vimeo.

Stepping onto a college campus as a freshman can be intimidating. The class work load is a challenge and balancing homework along with a job, and maybe a social life can be difficult. Sophomore, nursing student Adriana Madrigal has been balancing her school work, a full time job and one tiny but big priority.

“Well when I first found out I was pregnant I thought it was the end of the world. I was crying, I didn’t know what to do. I kind of just wanted to go into a corner and die,” Madrigal said.

Madrigal was a 16-year-old high school sophomore when she found out she was pregnant. She gave birth to her daughter Ey’sis in the fall of her junior year. Madrigal said she always had her mind set on seeking higher education, but having to raise a child at the same time has proved to be difficult.

“The things I have to do in order to take care of my child is what’s putting me back,” Madrigal said.

Madrigal lives at home with her mother who helps her take care of Ey’sis. She said her rigorous work and school schedules have prevented her from spending quality time with her daughter.

“I feel bad sometimes because she’s always with my mom. So when she starts whining, ‘I want my grandma’, because that’s what grandmas do, they give their grandkids whatever they want. I work four days on two days off, so my two days off I try to spend as much time with her as I can,” Madrigal said.

Madrigal said graduating may take her longer than most of her classmates, but says she’s determined to finish to provide a better life for her little family.

“The things you have to do to take care of your child that comes first. I’m going to graduate, I want to graduate to give her everything I didn’t have,” Madrigal said.