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Scholarship helps women pursue family and education

A Virginia Tech scholarship is making it easier for women to start families while pursuing advanced degrees.

Little bundles of joy might make studying or writing a dissertation a little difficult on a new mom.

"Grad students were also wondering when would be a good time to start a family," says Dr. Karen DePauw, Vice President and Dean for Graduate Education at Virginia Tech.

Dr. DePauw helped make that decision a little easier for women.

She helped develop the Work-Life Scholarship.

It financially assists academic departments and their graduate students who are expectant mothers.

Since 2004, 26 women have received the scholarship.

"It was was probably the best gift I could ever have to be honest," says Megan Dickhans, a Virginia Tech grad student.

Tthe work-life scholarship allowed her to focus on Tess the first six weeks after birth.

"It was incredible to relax, stay home with her and not worry about anything," says Dickhans.  

"It kept me at home and funded, which is really important with the economy right now. And it allowed me to have an assistantship the rest of the semester," says Laurian Vega, a Tech grad student.

"Families are very important to women and men, but they are very important and so is higher education and the two can be balanced," says Dr. Depauw.

Now efforts are underway to create child care on campus.