Student, staff and faculty mothers prove to be real heroes
Jacquelyn Edwards
Staff Writer
Wonder Woman, Cat Woman, Black Widow…these are just a few of the names we utter when we think of heroines. They fight evil with super human strength, cat like agility and strong will and determination.
They are two identities: the everyday working woman and the heroine of our favorite comics. But these women are nothing more than figments of our imagination. There is another heroine in our lives that isn’t conjured from our thoughts.
She doesn’t have superhuman powers from being dipped in a vat of toxic waste because her powers are innate. She doesn’t save hundreds of people around the city on a daily basis but she seems to know how to make everything better with a kiss and a hug. She is the super heroine known as Mom.
Celebrations occur all around the world for mothers on the designated day of Mother’s Day. On this day, mothers are given flowers, chocolates, and gifts to commemorate them for being mothers.
The status of ‘mother’ has changed drastically over the decades. Modern mothers today don’t just take care of the house and watch the children. Instead, they are often full time students or full time workers or sometimes even a mix of both. So move over Superwoman and make way for Supermoms!
Sabrina Stevenson, tutoring center manager, has two children (16 and 21) and was a single mom for almost 11 years.
“I did everything I needed to for my boys,” she admitted. “I was their boy scout leader, not girl scouts, boy scouts. I was the soccer coach if no one else stepped up and I was assistant coach to basketball.” Stevenson
said.
Sabrina Stevenson is definitely a mother to emulate. She made sure that her boys, despite the absence of a father, did everything they would do with a father.
It was a challenge at the time because she had to be the disciplinarian figure and the nurturing mother all at the same time while juggling her other responsibilities. Stevenson was a full time student here at Pierce (while working) before transferring to UWT (University of Washington Tacoma) to get her bachelor’s degree.
Thanks to a friend, she was informed of an internship opening that led her to meet her future husband, Pierce’s
own athletic director Duncan Stevenson. It wasn’t until many years when her internship had ended; that their
courtship would begin.
She admits that it was a relief to have someone to share the responsibility of parenting with because for the
first time in years her children had someone else to go to for advice or to attend school functions with other
than herself. However she has learned to make her adjustments accordingly.
Stevenson revealed that Wonder Woman would be a favorite heroine of hers.
“She wasn’t about conquering; she had other ways to get people to tell her what she wants.” Stevenson says. “Like her magical lasso that elicits the truth from people.” A big fan of traveling, just never having the time to do so, Stevenson would choose teleportation as her super power. To Sabrina Stevenson, her mother was also a superhero.
“I looked up to my mom,” Stevenson says, “She has the biggest heart in the world and is very self-sacrificing and fun!”
Like mother like daughter is how the saying goes. Stevenson sacrificed a lot so that her boys wouldn’t miss out on a thing.
“One memory I have was a surprise vacation to Snoqualmie; up to the ski area. My youngest was two at the time and my oldest around seven,” Stevenson recollects. “Being a single parent I had no opportunity to take them anywhere, financially speaking. So I took them on a weekend vacation.” Stevenson said, soon recalling how bright the night was despite the fact that it was ten or eleven o’clock at night and pitch black.
“The moon was reflecting such a bright light. While we were walking we found a small embankment and it was perfect. They were too little to go sledding down any of the big hills but we used this as our sled hill. We would roll down it on our backs and butts, just laughing.I remember laughing so much.” Stevenson laughs as she recollects the memory.
“My favorite Mother’s day gifts were always the homemade school card that the boys brought home,” Stevenson admits.
But her favorite gift is the one currently hanging in her office of her sons that starts from birth and outlines all of the things they have thus far. The perfect reminder for a mother of everything she holds dear.
With a cute button nose and twinkling eyes, three-year-old Faith looks almost exactly like single mother. A single mother, full time student and a working mom, 21-year-old Cami Jones has her hands full but she doesn’t let that stop her.
“You’re either a poor college student or a poor single mom,” Jones says with a laugh. “So you are really getting double the fun!”
But she makes it work. While at school and work her daughter is only right across the parking lot at the Milgard center, which is convenient. An Early Childhood Education Major, Jones is great with children especially her own. But being a single mom can also be time consuming. “You have your studies, and work, child,” she states.
“And you are playing the role of two parents. I don’t know how I do it, but I know I learned fast.”
Hilary Stephens has her hands full with a four year old as well as a four month old; but she is not alone. Happily married, Hilary admits that she likes to work and it allows her children a chance to get outside of the
home and interact with other people, but she still misses them. When it comes to identifying her own mother
as a superhero, Hilary is all smiles.
“I call her all the time with questions,” she admits.
“She is an amazing person who taught me to work hard by example!”
A lesson Hilary no doubt instills in her own children. When asked if she felt like a super hero to her kids, Hilary answered with nothing but truth.
“Sometimes,” she says, “If you look at most superhero stories, the super hero is generally just barely making it, trying to balance saving the world with keeping their personal lives under control and they often make mistakes! I can relate to that!”
Motherhood can be challenging, heart wrenching, and frustrating but the precious moments you share with your children and the pride you get when you look at them makes it just melt away.
“I have lots of memories with my daughter and I’m just starting to build up great moments with my son who is
only four months old,” she declares.
“I think that the most amazing thing about having kids is watching them grow and learn. I am just fascinated
with how quickly they learn and pick up new skills. I also love watching them interact. My son loves his big
sister and gets the biggest grin when she is around. My daughter, likewise, loves playing with him!”
It goes without saying that mothers come in a variety of forms just like superheroes. They all have different
views on how to raise their children, what time is bedtime, when to do homework and what influences they
want around their children. But, just like superheroes have a common goal to protect the Earth, mothers all have one common goal as well, and that is to make sure that their children grow up the best they possibly can.
