University of Mary student to graduate with toddler, supported by campus program for moms

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A young mother will be the first to graduate from a Catholic school in North Dakota with the support of the school’s program that provides young student-mothers with child care, housing, and community. Katie Chihoski plans to walk across the stage to obtain her diploma with her 18-month-old daughter, Lucia, by her side.

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade, supporting women with unplanned pregnancies has become an even greater priority for many groups and organizations. Planned Parenthood’s latest report reveals that the abortion giant performed its highest-ever number of abortions the year Roe v. Wade was overturned, numbering almost 400,000 abortions between Oct. 1, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2022.

With the help of concerned donors, University of Mary, a Catholic liberal arts college in Bismarck, North Dakota, launched the Saint Teresa of Calcutta Community for Mothers in 2023. Known as “St. Teresa’s,” the program pledges to help single mothers by providing room, board, and child care — as well semesterly retreats and frequent “community nights.”

The whole campus has stepped in to help, with students volunteering to help with child care and professors welcoming kids in class, while residence directors who live on campus — and are often recently married with young children — offer community and support to the St. Teresa’s moms.

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