Scholarship for single parents gave UTA student some breathing room
Juggling a full-time job, being a full-time student and raising a daughter, Claudia Hernandez stays busy.
On Wednesdays during the school year, Hernandez, an architecture major at The University of Texas at Arlington, wakes up at 6:30 a.m. to help her daughter get ready for school. After school drop-off, she heads to work as a landscaping supervisor, and by 2 p.m., she’s at UTA doing homework for a quick hour before classes begin. Her day doesn’t finish until classes end at 9 p.m.
As someone who has worked consistently since age 16 and values hard work and supporting yourself, Hernandez said she didn’t initially seek any financial support beyond applying for federal student aid. UTA’s Financial Aid and Scholarships Office reached out to her about an opportunity for a scholarship from the Mary I. Gourley Foundation, which provides funding to support single parents.
“Now having it, I see how much it helps. It’s just a blessing to be able to receive the money,” she said.
Hernandez took a brief hiatus from education at 18 so she could focus on working and raising her child. Life changed a lot when her daughter was born, she said, but in a positive way.
Still, it was hard for Hernandez to watch her best friend go to college after high school. That same friend’s college graduation ceremony was a turning point. Hernandez remembers thinking how quickly her best friend’s four years of a more traditional college experience went by. When her daughter started pre-K, Hernandez realized this could be the time for her to return to school, too.
She already knew what she wanted to study. In high school, she’d taken an architecture class and realized she loved building models and learning AutoCAD. Hernandez started studying at a community college and then transferred to UTA, which she had toured while in high school.
“Trying to get back into school was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life,” Hernandez said. “My head wasn’t there anymore. All I did was work and take care of my daughter.”
Now nearly midway through the Bachelor of Science in architecture program in UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, Hernandez has had to master the art of juggling everything on her plate.
“Work and school life are completely intertwined. I make my school, work and daughter’s schedules all fit together,” she said.
Commuting between work, UTA and her daughter’s school and activities can be overwhelming. The hardest part of the commute, Hernandez said, is that her work locations can vary across the metroplex.
Some days, work sites can be in Plano or as far north as McKinney.
With so much going on, she’s often asked how she can do it. Hernandez said the perspective of where she came from, what she does now and where she’s going next is motivating.
“Part of it is that it is just in me. I knew what I was getting myself into,” she said. “Part of it is seeing where my parents came from, what they had and what we didn’t have.”
She also attributes a very encouraging family and a strong support system to helping her manage everything.
“That is another self-motivating thing—knowing that I have support from family,” Hernandez said. “I could never do what I do had they not been there.”
Recently, her grocery bill has more than doubled. The support she received from the scholarship helped her navigate the higher prices.
“I could breathe. I didn’t have to have that stress,” she said.
Hernandez hopes to pursue her master’s in landscape architecture immediately following the completion of her bachelor’s degree.
“To me, having great grades is the minimum,” Hernandez said. “If I’m going to give up this much time with my daughter or this much time from work, it’s because I’m excelling here.”
- Written by Alyssa Foy, Development and Alumni Relations