During the 2025–2026 school year, Standing With You Fellows made remarkable progress in transforming campuses to better support pregnant and parenting students. These Fellows completed 16 policy changes, and they are actively advancing 35 more. The policy changes are meant to create tangible accommodations that allow student parents to continue their education with dignity and support.
One Fellow, Mataya Watson, took on a particularly powerful project alongside her group, Saints for Life: creating designated parking spaces for pregnant and parenting students at Holy Cross College. These spaces quickly became a visible testament to a culture of family support on campus.
Watson said the project was “surprisingly short, thanks to other Catholics who support our mission working at the college.” Her first meeting with the Assistant Vice President of Operations was in early September 2025. In this meeting, she detailed how parking spaces for expectant mothers would serve as a great witness to visitors on campus and a testament to how Holy Cross College should remain pro-life, not just in name, but in practice.
Once the school granted her approval, Mataya championed the operational side of the project, including design, placement, and quantity of the parking space signs. She collaborated with her student group, and they landed on the image of a stork and a sign that reads, “Reserved for expectant mothers, families with young children, and the disabled.” They were then able to repurpose two handicap spots to, in Mataya’s words, “expand the audience they could serve.”
The project began with a short meeting in September, and the signs were approved and functional by mid-November! As she was reflecting on the project, Mataya noted, “Being pro-life is more than being pro-birth; it’s supporting parents in their vocation as caregivers for precious little souls and helping them every step of the way.”
It is both an honor and a privilege to partner with student leaders like Mataya who are turning compassion into concrete action on their campuses. Through policy changes like these, Standing With You continues to ensure that pregnant and parenting students are not forced to choose between their education and their children. Instead, we want them to feel supported and empowered to continue their education while raising their children.