Mass communications major Jessica Huber found out she was pregnant in April, just after spring semester of 2017. Some students’ biggest fear is getting pregnant while still in college and not being able to finish, but Huber proved that with perseverance, it is absolutely possible.
“My biggest fear after finding out was how was I going to tell my parents and if I was going to be able to graduate like I originally planned,” Huber said, “The biggest struggle about being pregnant and trying to maintain all my classes was how to stay healthy and not over do it. Pregnancy is very hard on your body and my main problem was the amount of sleep I was not getting. Dealing with my body going through major changes and being constantly tired, it was hard to stay motivated to finish my homework as the semester went on.”
Huber said her son is what kept her motivated to stay in school, even though it was the hardest thing she’s ever had to do.
“In 9 months, I finished a total of 9 classes. Four in the summer and five in the fall. It was worth it because I did it all for not only myself but for him. Once he was born, I realized that it wasn't about me anymore, it was about him. It was the easiest decision I had to make this entire pregnancy because he is the reason why I am finishing,” she said.
With constantly questioning from other students about how she could possibly manage school while being pregnant, Huber decided she didn’t care what others said because she was determined to walk on her graduation date.
“My due date was December 18th and my graduation date was December 16th. After I would tell people that, they would laugh and say ‘looks like you won’t be walking this December.’ In the back of my head I kept saying that I was going to walk whether I had him early or not. Which worked in my favor because he was here a month earlier than expected,” Huber said.
Huber’s son, Adrián Robert Ortiz, was born Nov. 16, 2017.
