Nesha Bertin has wanted to be a lawyer since she was eight years old.
But her dream changed when she became pregnant at 16.
“As much as I love my son, it was devastating,” she said. “I didn’t think I would go to school on scholarship, I didn’t think I would finish high school, period, because young girls don’t. They get scared, they get stuck in a rut.
“I was stuck in a rut for the longest while until I was like, ‘You know what, Nesha? If you just sit back and watch the world pass you by, the chance of you becoming a crown prosecutor is out the window.’”
A high school and college diploma later, the 23-year-old is working towards her arts degree in criminology at St. Thomas University.
But she says there’s been times she’s considered dropping out because she couldn’t find child care for her son Tyson.
Bertin first went to the College Hill Daycare to see if there were any spots open. They told her there was a four-year waiting list.
“It’s gotten to the point where I’ve gotten so discouraged that I’ve almost dropped out of university twice in two years,” Bertin said.
Jeffrey Carleton, director of communications at STU, says the lack of daycare facilities on campus is an issue – but a costly one.
“We know that there are limitations we have here at St. Thomas in regards to a physical location we could provide. It’s costly to set up the actual infrastructure needed…but you’re always looking for a way to accommodate a student,” he said.
There is also a strict check-list, monitored by the government, that any daycare facility must abide by.
In 1994, St. Thomas and the University of New Brunswick collaborated and partnered with the College Hill Daycare. But Carleton knows the facility is now “over-subscribed, with just 60 spaces and a significant waiting list.”
“I know money comes into play and it’s hard to come about, but a four-year waiting list? For child care? I almost denied my acceptance just for that reason,” said Bertin.
Paige Gallant says not only is there a long waiting list, but the costs of child care are simply not feasible for her and her husband.
Gallant is in her third year at St. Thomas, studying journalism and communications. But continuing her education became a bit harder when her daughter Carly was born on Oct. 12 of last year.
She says she couldn’t have continued her schooling if wasn’t for her professors and the academic advisors at STU.
“They were there with me to make sure my schedules were a way that I could actually go to school and get things done,” she said.
She’s re-arranged her schedule so that she only goes to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Carly’s great-grandparents watch her on the days Gallant is in school.
Even still, Gallant said it’s hard to be away from Carly because she needs to be breast fed.
“If I could stop in between classes and breast feed her, that would be so wonderful,” Gallant said. “I just wish that there was something.”
Carleton said the issue is on the table.
In February, the university will begin a strategic planning exercise, where it will re-evaluate its goals and resources on campus.
“If this is a serious concern for a significant number of students, then this might be a new priority of the strategic plan,” he said.
There will be a call out for students to bring forth issues they believe the university needs to focus on. This will be the time when students can voice their concerns about child care.
“And with NBCC, there might be now a critical mass [of students] where this is a concern,” Carleton said. “This might be the time to sit down and look at it.”
