The Nest is a family resource and engagement center provided for student and campus families at Cosumnes River College, according to the Nest website.
The Child Development Center cooperated with the Early Childhood Education Department to create the Nest in Aug. 2021 in order to support all types of families, from those who are newly expecting to those who require elderly care.
The Nest opened for in-person services for the first time this spring semester and is located in the Child Development Center.
“We just want student families to feel welcomed on campus and to be able to be supported and be able to persist in their educational and life goals,” said Child Development Center Supervisor Jennifer Patrick.
The Nest provides early care and development experiences for children ages 3 to 11 while their parents are attending classes or working.
“We offer a support coach to help them with whatever needs that they may have on campus or off campus,” said Patrick.
The Nest also provides articles, podcasts and financial advice to help caregivers.
“With this program, it’s being able to reach a greater audience of students,” Patrick said. “So that they can get the support that they need because it’s hard to go to school and juggle life when you’ve got children or elderly parents or anything else.”
Mena Hafizi, a 35-year-old early childhood development major, said the Nest has been helpful for her and her family, and she is pleased to have the Nest available at CRC for her and everyone else on campus.
“Sometimes we really need some help or advice for daily routine life,” Hafizi said. “I really like it and am grateful for having it here.”
Family and Consumer Science Professor Jeannette Mulhern said the goal for the Nest is to work on the barriers that exist for students raising families.
“How can we kind of look through the eyes of the student parents at our campus and look at what’s available online, what’s available physically for these students and their families so that they can feel like this is my campus?” Mulhern said.
Mulhern shared some of her personal experiences as a student parent.
“I gave birth to an infant on Monday and then I rolled them into a final on a Wednesday and that’s not an exaggeration, that’s an actual story,” Mulhern said. “So I’ve always had my children on campus and they haven’t always been well received.”
Mulhern said her goal is to be able to offer that help for student parents and to make them feel heard.
“We have felt like they can be part of what we build together,” she said. “We really welcome their voices and their ideas.”
In order to drop your child off at the Nest, you must fill out an application information form to join a waitlist.
For more information and to get in contact with the Nest click here.