Pittsburg State University - Kanza Yearbook (Pittsburg, KS)

Page 30 text:

All in a day's work Marriage, family and college prove to be big load H I I t's hard at times because you can't be out running around a lot. You have to learn how to proportion your time so you can study, work and still be with your family ' said Danny Davenport, Farlington senior. Davenport and his wife Cindy, with seven and a half month-old son Patrick are just one of several couples at Pitt- sburg State University who go to school, work and are already raising a family. Married students with children are not uncommon at colleges and univer- sities across the country. They go to school and work like other students, but in addition to the routine of college life, they experience the problems and satisfactions of being married and rais- ing a family. I go to classes during the day, then I work from 5:30 p.m. - 2:00 a.m. everyday, Davenport said. Cindy and I are both going to school and she's teaching aerobics so we're pretty busy. It's difficult, but it's not impossible. Rock Davied, Pittsburg sophomore, and his wife Aline are another married couple at PSU. They live with their son Junior in the East Campus Apartments. There's definitely a strain, but sometimes I give Aline presents if I can. I do it to let her know I still love her even if I'm not around a lot, Davied said. It's really hard, but we get by, Aline said. With me working though, I don't get to see Rock at lunch anymore BEING A FULL-TIME student, husband and lather takes a lot of time for Rock Davied, Pittsburg junior. Daviedrs wife Aline occupies her time as a full-time housewife. — photo by jo Black HAVING A FAMILY and being a student require a balance between studying and her son Patrick Ryan for Cindy Davenport, Pittsburg graduate student. Daven- port's husband, Dan, also works and goes to school full- time. —photo by Jo Black and I miss that. Another such couple is Allen and Bridget Krenz who live in a mobile home outside of Pittsburg with two and a half year-old son Brandon. Allen works at an on-campus job while at- tending school and his wife works full » I ✓ Marriage, Family and College Living

Page 29 text:

pure black feline friend, Sam. I didn't really find Sam, he found me ' Powell said. I went to the front door one morning because I thought I heard something on the porch and there he was climbing on the screen door. He was only about two months old. He's been a lot of company when no one else is around and he's a lot of fun. He's pretty laid back and mellow but he's real affectionate for a cat. You can also tell when his mood changes by the way he acts. When he's mad he whips his tail real fast ' he said. Sam also acts as an alarm clock and Powell said he has his own way of wak- ing him up in the morning. My bedroom door is usually always open just a crack and Sam will put his claws under the door and bang it back and forth until 1 come and open it ' he said. I didn't really find Sam, he found me. Powell said that having a cat is not a big expense even when you have some unusual vet bills. I was messing around with a fly and some fishing line for my rod one day and Sam ran through the line and got hooked, so I had to spend about $40 to get him out of that one, but for what you get in return from an animal, they're worth the expense ' Powell said. Anna Golob, Pittsburg senior, like Shively, also owns a parakeet, Gripper. Even though Gripper stays in his cage most of the time, Golob said he still proves to be amusing. He gets real excited in the morning and will just fly around in his cage and squawk until I get up and take the cover off of his cage ' she said. Whenever he gets hyper, he'll grap the top wires of his cage with his beak and just hang there ana swing back and forth. Even though most college students wouldn't go as far as to say that their pets are their best friends, most agree that they come pretty close,—by jacque Porter BY PLAYING A game of keep away, Rick Wrightswam, Westwood sophomore, enjoys the fail weather and Lance, owned by Robert McCrary, Overland Park junior, gets his daily exercise, —photo by Mike Pruett Pets o p Living

Page 31 text:

time at the National Bank of Pittsburg. It's tough financially and limited timewise. If Pm not at work or school or studying Pm doing things that need to be done at home ' Allen said. Having children also puts an ad- ditional burden on couples. In addition to the expenses curtailed for a babysit- ter, couples find they don't get out as often as they used to. We sacrifice a lot in respect to Brandon. We don't go out as much in the evening unless we can take him. Another thing is that you miss out on a lot of their growing up because of their going to a babysitter. You're letting someone else train your child in their early years and that's hard to deal with ' said Krenz. Despite some of the problems of hav- ing children, all three couples feel they're well worth it, I love Junior for everything he's worth and I wouldn't give him up for anything in the world ' said Rock Davied. I couldn't imagine not having Patrick around. He's my buddy ' said Cindy Davenport. Married couples in college also have to make some personal sacrifices to get by, although they feel that the sacrifices too are worth it. Bridget is making a big sacrifice to put me through school. And I have to give up taking a lot of elective courses Pd like to take. I also can't be as active on campus as Pd like because Pm put- ting four years of college into two and a half ' said Krenz. Overall it's been a good experience. It does get hard a lot of the times, but we're together and we're happy, said Bridget Krenz. We just keep looking ahead and saying everything will work out and besides, we can see the end in sight ' she added.—by Yvette Wheeler