Supporting Student Parents at the NCCC: Samantha Becker
September 30, 2025
In honor of Student Parent Month 2025, the Minnesota Department of Higher Education shared the following story from Samantha Becker, a student at the Northfield Community College Collaborative (NCCC). Read on below for more of her story:
Samantha’s journey back to school didn’t start in a classroom—it started with a decision to take her life back.
After graduating from Park High School in 2012, Samantha took what she calls “the tougher route.” She struggled with substance use disorder for several years before getting clean on May 3, 2018. That moment changed everything.
“I had to start feeling life instead of numbing it,” she says. “It’s hard, but worth it.”
Before enrolling in college, Samantha found herself in a toxic relationship. “He told me I’d never make it without him,” she recalls. “That was the last time I let anyone speak to me like that.”
She left that relationship and began searching for schools with support for student parents. She started at Northfield Community College Collaborative in 2021. She quickly realized that that in order to finish school she would need consistent, reliable child care. “When I started, there was no child care on campus,” she explains. “I was the first parent trying to attend class with my kiddo.” After sharing her situation with staff at NCCC, they began advocating for support for student parents. Now, St. Olaf and Carlton College students come NCCC to provide child care for student parents in the afternoon and evening. “It feels really nice to know that this program started because I shared my experience and they took it to heart,” said Samantha. “They have done amazing work to provide support for student parents.”
Now a mom of two—her daughter just turned eight, and her newborn son arrived in July—
Samantha continues her studies while working as a child care provider at a daycare facility.
She’s earned enough child care credits to be teacher-qualified and is currently focusing on
finishing her general education classes.
NCCC’s support has been critical to get her and her family to this point. From food and gas cards
to flexible class schedules and encouragement from instructors, it’s what has kept her going.
“Without that hands-on support, I probably would’ve dropped out the first year,” she says. “They meet you where you’re at.”
Her advice to other parents thinking about school? “It’s never too late. Even if it’s just one class, what do you have to lose? Everyone deserves a chance. If someone hears my story and thinks, ‘If she can do it, I can too,’ then that means everything to me.”