George Mason’s student parent and caregiver meetups earn national recognition

More than 30% of George Mason University students who participated in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) this year reported spending time caregiving each week-for children, siblings, parents, or other family members. That's a significant portion of the student body navigating coursework alongside responsibilities that many campus programs weren't built to acknowledge. University Life's Contemporary Student Services (CSS) unit is working to change that.

CSS's monthly Student Parent and Caregiver Meetups are designed to foster connection and build support networks; research shows these activities are linked to increased student retention and success. CSS was recognized with the NASPA Adult Learner and Students with Children Knowledge Community's Outstanding Undergraduate Student Parent Program award for these meetups.

The NASPA award honors innovative approaches to supporting the specific needs of student parents in higher education. "Supporting student success means recognizing those realities and meeting students as learners and caregivers at the same time," said JoisanneRodgers, CSS director. "Each student and staff member involved gives care, time, support, to ensure that George Mason student parents and caregivers have a place to gather, be in community, and know they belong and matter."

George Mason alumna Veronica Vassar, MA Higher Education and Student Development '25, said, "This space was one of the biggest contributors to my sense of belonging at George Mason."

The meetups, conceived of and hosted by CSS associate director Shyama Kuver, began as virtual gatherings during COVID-19 lockdown in spring 2020. By fall 2022, the initiative had grown into an in-person program, co-led by undergraduate student parent and FamilyUFellow Valeria Fernandez. After her fellowship, Fernandez continued her work with CSS as a contemporary student ambassador, helping grow the program alongside Caroline Simpson, then CSS coordinator and now New Student and Family Programs assistant director.

When Fernandez graduated, undergraduate student parent and CSS Ambassador ChathriniSirisena stepped into the leadership role. Today, the meetups continue to flourish thanks to CSS student ambassadors Mahjabeen Rahman and Kaitlyn La; Ryne Kimlick, an undergraduate student parent and CSS peer mentor; and Maria Garin Jones, CSS coordinator.

That continuity-students carrying the work forward for other students-speaks to what the program has built over the years.

"As a student parent, being there with others just like me was so meaningful," Sirisena said. "That feeling of not being alone in the experience is so important, and I am grateful we have been able to create that for our student parents."

For Kuver, the recognition reflects something she has believed since the beginning. "The CSS meetups were my first program implementation at George Mason," she said. "I believe in their importance and intheir evolution. I believe in the spirit and necessity of horizontal support networks for our student communities."

George Mason University is also a proud recipient of the FamilyUSeal, a national certification recognizing the important work done every day to help student parents pursue their education, access economic mobility, and thrive.

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