With Halloween right around the corner, student parents on campus are preparing to celebrate the holiday in a manner distinct from their peers. At the University of California, Riverside (UCR), student-parents, caregivers or registered students who are taking care of a dependent, have the opportunity to take part in campus culture and events alongside their kids.
Gabriela (Gabby) Almendarez, an eighth-year doctoral candidate in the English department and president of the Graduate Student Parent and Caregivers Association (GSPCA) on campus, has been involved with various events on campus, aimed at offering support to student-parents. The GSPCA goal is to “support and mentor current and incoming graduate parents and caregivers at UCR and collaborate with UCR Graduate Student Association (GSA) and UC Graduate and Professional Council to advocate and lobby for graduate parent needs on campus and system-wide.” With connections to various other departments and organizations on campus such as R’Kids, UCR Early Childhood Services and the Women’s Resource Center, the GSPCA is one of many groups on campus that assist those with dependents in their college career.
Reminiscing on a trunk or treat held on campus from two years prior, Almendarez recalls the various activities that were available to families and their children. With Halloween themed games, candy and the support of the community at hand, she shares, “I don’t get to bring my kids to campus often … so it’s really nice anytime I do get the opportunity to show them around and remind them that I’m a student; like Mommy goes here and gets to do activities.” That year Almendarez along with other volunteers took shifts throughout the day so that way they could not only organize and run the event, but also spend quality time with their kids, bringing together the community in a meaningful and supportive manner.
During last year’s trunk or treat, Almendarez simply went as a participant, and she recalls, “It’s even nicer when I just get to chill. Both times have been really great experiences. The main thing that I value is just having my kids in that world. We don’t get to mesh those two worlds [school and family], often.”
During that same event last year, Almendarez and one of her step-daughters had a welcoming experience with one of the resource centers who were tabling. The two had stopped by the LGBT Resource Center table and had a discussion with the people there. At the end of it she recalls that her daughter was invited to drop by the center whenever she liked, and that it was a special moment for the two of them. Reminiscing on the moment, she painted a picture of her daughter pins and flag in hand “walking away super happy. Even having the opportunity [from the center] to come and talk. Maybe not at the moment, but in the future. It’s really special in that way too.”
This year, there are two separate trunk or treats being hosted on campus that are open to all. On Oct. 30, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Oban parking Lot the Campus Apartment Residence Association is hosting a Trunk or Treat, featuring a DJ, cookie decorating, trick-or-treating and squishmallow raffles. Another one on Oct. 31 will be hosted by the Associated Students of UCR, Office of the President at Lot 30 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The event will feature car decorations, costume contests, candy distributions and according to an Instagram comment from @asucr_president, will include the presence of various on-campus organizations.
After being present as first a student and then as a student-parent at UCR, Almendarez recalls how access to resources over the years have changed. She states, “When I did become a parent … whenever I was looking for those resources, [it] felt like I really had to dig. But over the last few years, there’s definitely been a big push to make families feel more welcome.” With student-parents being “a visible part of campus life,” and the growth of various resources and events on campus, she shares, “I wish I could stay longer” and that she will miss it when she graduates.
With Halloween falling on a weekday this year, there is a lot of time management needed for Almendarez to celebrate the holiday with her family. As of now, she plans on getting as many things she can get done. This way, she hopes to take the afternoon off, stating “I’m planning to go on trunk-or-treats around my area. I think half my kids have costumes, so I still have to go figure out the other costumes.” Excited for what is to come, she views what is coming as a reward, “if I get ‘X’ amount of work done, then I get to take off and forget about school for a little bit and enjoy the time that my kids go all crazy for Halloween and all the candy.”
Over the last few years, Almendarez and her family have been trying new things. Looking forward to the future, Almendarez is ending this chapter in her life as a student-parent by embracing her community. She explains how she looks forward to starting new “traditions as a family, and a blended family at that … see[ing] what [traditions] sticks and what doesn’t.”
