The Barometer Online

Issue date: 3/13/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Contributed Photo Tiffanie Kuntz and her son Ethan at graduation in June 2007. Tiffanie Kuntz graduated with a degree in biology and is working toward her doctorate in pharmacy at OSU.

At Oregon State University, the four-year pharmacy doctoral degree program is known as one of the more rigorous academic programs on campus. Tiffanie Kuntz, a 2011 Pharm.D degree candidate and mother, realized that she must separate her academic life from her role as a parent.

"What I've learned is that I can't be a student and be a parent at the exact same time," she said.

Kuntz, 26, is the mother of 3-year-old Ethan. She said that balancing her class work and taking care of Ethan can be challenging, but she has worked out a system so that she can accomplish both tasks. "When I get home from school, it's our time to have dinner together, and after I get him ready for bed, then I'll study," she said.

Kuntz is no stranger to balancing both roles in her life. She learned she was pregnant with Ethan in August 2004. A month later, she began classes at Chemeketa Community College in Salem.

When Ethan was born, Kuntz took a few days off from classes, but she could not drop out of one particular class because she had a goal in mind.

"I would have had to wait a year, and I wanted to transfer to OSU that following fall." She said two friends helped her by taking care of Ethan while she attended the class and its lab.

Kuntz transferred to OSU and earned an undergraduate degree in biology with a minor in chemistry. She said that it took her a little time to learn to balance both roles.

"When he was an infant, I tried to do everything at once. I couldn't study and I couldn't be a parent," Kuntz explained. "Separating the two made a big difference for me."

Like other students who are parents at OSU, time management is also an issue for Kuntz.

"One of the most challenging things is time management," she said. Kuntz explained that it is getting easier, however, to juggle school, parenting and chores. "I'm engaged now, so I have help from my fiancé." Her fiancé, Rod, works in Salem in the heating and air conditioning industry.

Although Ethan is enrolled in a day care with assistance from ASOSU's childcare subsidy program, issues arise when Kuntz must care for Ethan.

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