SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 28

FEATURE ARTICLES
But as quickly as it started, it was over and time for me to go back to work. I was okay with this
because I knew Baby Nate was safe with my momma, and I returned to work eager to get back to
the grind. I really thought that adding the 'mom' hat was going to a breeze. Ha. It was a breeze that
knocked me off my feet. "
Erin Vaughn Jones, Ph.D.
Director, Student Housing and Residence Life and Deputy Title IX Coordinator/ Mother of One
Hinds Community College
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" The emotional labor of figuring out logistics to get your kid to/from school, prepping meals and
grocery shopping, remembering PTA meetings and parent/teacher conferences, signing up for
and then getting to and from extracurriculars, making sure she knows just how much I love today's
rainbow-themed artwork, all while seeking to be successful in my role at work and show emotional
intelligence when my little one decides to lose her everloving mind at bedtime is exhausting.
Not just tired... like deep-in-my-bones exhausted (with or without all of the other terrible things
happening in the world). And - at the end of the day - wonderful. I have had to learn and relearn the
ways I perform as a parent and as a professional over the past five years of motherhood: how I show
up in the workplace, resetting boundaries in order to make it to pick up on time, how I talk to my
daughter about what a " hard day " means for me and why I may need to leave suddenly to go back
to work after a phone call. I like to think I am better in both regards because of my tiny human, but
know that sometimes those I work with have to feel the effects of my limited patience. I have tried to
find balance; I have sought for harmony; I have regularly felt that I have come up short. This work is
HARD, but it is IMPORTANT. "
Meghan Luzader
Director of Residence Life/ Mother of One
North Carolina State University
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" If you happen to find any pictures of me when my son Christian was under the age of 5, you
would see a much different version of Stephanie. I struggled profoundly with work/life balance or
integration (however you describe it) as a new mom. I mean if there was a grading scale, I would
have gotten an F, maybe a D- if you were being generous. At 6 weeks old, I put Christian in daycare
because I felt like I needed to get back to work to be there for my team and contribute to the
department. Not only that, he would stay at daycare until they closed at 7 p.m., because once
again I felt like I needed to work late to get everything done. Honestly, I didn't want anyone to
question my ability to do my job, question my ability to hold my weight or question my professional
abilities in any capacity because I was a single Black mom. This kind of unhealthy thinking only
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SEAHO Report - Winter 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Winter 2022