University life, in its essence, is the juggling of various responsibilities. There’s the obvious ones like your studies and social life, the not-so-obvious ones like a healthy lifestyle and bank account, and then the incredible responsibilities that only a few might take on, like caring for a child.
As a student parent, every responsibility becomes vital to ensure that they have a good quality of life and that you set a good example. From an outside perspective this might seem like an impossible task, as being a student isn’t easy at the best of times, but over 2,000 students currently studying are caring for a child.
How difficult can it be?
To find out we spoke to one of the 2,000: Journalism student Gemma Louise Walsh, mother to four-year-old Jay. Heading into the third year of her degree, Gemma has dealt with the high demands of a Journalism course alongside the even higher demands of being a mum, so who better to share some experience and advice?
Shortly after Jay was born in 2012, Gemma was made redundant from her job whilst on maternity leave, as the position moved to Manchester. Left in a limbo with no A-Levels or college qualifications, she made the brave decision to try higher education, but not without a little persuading.
Despite attending the university’s Step Up to HE program, she still had reservations and it took advice from both Pete Leydon, a Journalism lecturer, and Kim Bond, founder of young parents’ magazine Visit from the Stork (for which Gemma regularly writes features), before the decision was made to enrol at Staffs.
She explained: “By then Jay was two. Once you’ve settled into being a mum and you can get your identity back, it gives you the motivation to make something of yourself for them.
“If anyone is thinking of doing it, you’ll know when it’s the right time. It’ll still be scary, but you’ll know when you’re ready to get back into that 
mode.
“Suddenly I had to put him into nursery, whether I wanted to or not, and believe me I didn’t, but he goes to the Staffs Uni nursery, which I can’t speak highly enough of.
“As soon as you feel a little bit ready, trust that ‘I’m ready, but scared’ instinct and do it, because if you put it off, you never will. It’s hard, but knowing that they’re seeing you do something amazing to better yourself is priceless.
“Jay knows where I’m going to an extent, as a four-year old, and it might not pay off now, but when I graduate he’ll be five and I know that’s going to stick with him."
So what about the social side of things? Is there enough free time to spend with coursemates? People often assume students are on nights out constantly, is there any room for this?
While she admits she might not have the same experience as many other students, Gemma definitely believes that there's scope for being social.
“I suppose it’s easy for me, socially, because I’ve got a husband at home, but it’s a priority thing again. It’s not that you can’t go out, you just can’t go out and do things mindlessly, like you might do in student accommodation.
"I definitely make the most of the days when Jay’s in nursery, in between lectures when I can just go out and get something to eat with my coursemates.
"At first I wasn’t sure if I’d have anything in common with the people on my course, but I’ve made the most amazing friends who really understand me and my family life. Just like a normal group of friends we accommodate around each other. That was one of my biggest fears; that I wouldn’t make any close friends at university."
Lastly, we asked Gemma what the most important thing was to her as a parent in full-time study.
"A support network," she replied.
"I’m lucky that I’ve got a husband at home, that stable environment is what gets me through the hard work. My mother lives up the street too and she takes Jay to nursery sometimes, but whoever it is; friends or family, you need that support network.
"Even someone who’ll just be there for you to unload on. I had to make my mother very aware that every now and then I’ll have an emotional breakdown. So make sure you communicate with whoever it is clearly and explain that you’ll need their help."
Gemma never downplayed the amount of work she had had to do for her course, but nevertheless she was optimistic for her final year.
"If it’s achievable to the Journalism degree, it’s achievable for anything else!"
If you're a parent studying at Staffordshire University and you have any concerns concerning your workload, your course, your social life or your finances get in touch with the union advice team. They can be contacted by email: sac@staffs.ac.uk or by phone at 01782 294629. The Advice Centre is also open from 9am until 8pm (5pm during holiday periods) and can be found in the union offices above the Ember Lounge.