Victor Roberson, a 52-year-old communications senior at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, returned to college in 2014, the same year he got custody of his three girls.
Today he is a full-time student caring for his daughters, all under the age of 15.
Roberson decided to attend school because “I like working with my mind rather than my hands, and you get to a point where you realize, ‘I can’t do much more of this physical work,’” said Roberson, who has been a chef and kitchen manager.
He is aspiring to operate his own multimedia outlet and works as a multimedia specialist at San Antonio College.
He also wants to be a role model for his daughters.
“I had stopped going to school before I had my children and have been through a lot of different journeys and stages in my life, and I felt like it was time to come back to school, pick up where I left off and set an example for my girls,” he said in an interview April 10.
He is not alone. Parents with dependent children make up 26 percent of U.S. undergraduates, according to a 2014 fact sheet from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Of those 4.8 million student parents, 43 percent are single mothers and 11 percent are single fathers like Roberson.
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Roberson said he felt that coming back to school would help him to maximize his potential in the workforce.
As a full-time single parent and a full-time student, it has been a challenge, but family members are stepping in to help out with his children when he is attending classes.
“I receive help caring for the girls from their grandmothers, aunts and also their mother,” Roberson said. “I could not go to school without this support group. I still feel like sometimes I am cheating my girls, but at the same time they have to see how it works and you have to put in what you want to get out of it.”
“The main challenge is they are girls and they are developing and have personalities of their own. They have some of mine and their mother’s bad habits and you have to work through all of that.”
His girls are 14, 11, and 9. All three are students and they have a very demanding schedule like their dad. He rallies them to complete their homework.
“Motivation is not a strong suit for my eldest child when it comes to school right now. She is not motivated about things that matter and is predisposed to things that just don’t matter, but to her credit she is developing into a great person,” Roberson said.
He teaches his daughters about work ethics by leading by example and talks to them about who they want to become and the obstacles they may face along the way. This serves as a learning lesson, not a distraction or deterrent to quit school.
“Sometimes the girls try to make me feel guilty for not being home because I am in classes, but I reiterate that I am here for them when they need me and incorporate them into the things that I do. I am doing good for my kids. I know I can do better, and I apologize quite a bit,” Roberson said.
Roberson said, “Self-evaluation is a tough pill to swallow, but necessary for growth. You have to be able to look in the mirror and say, ‘Yep, I need to do that better.’”
