
Kristi King is assistant director, Our Little Village and Student Engagement CCAMPIS (Child Care Access Means Parents in School) co-coordinator
What originally brought you to OSU?
I graduated from OSU with a BS in Human Development and Family Sciences. I didn’t have plans to leave the area, as this is where I grew up and where my family/friends live. When I saw the job posting to start a new “drop-in” child care program (Our Little Village) for OSU’s parenting students, I applied. I had been working in the community with children and families for several years and felt I had some skills that would help me be successful in starting a new program at OSU.
What makes you passionate about higher education?
I’m a first-generation college student. I believe higher education gives people an opportunity to learn, grow and figure out what they are passionate about. In my role here at OSU, I get the unique opportunity to support parenting students on their higher education journey, while also providing early care and education for their children (the next generation of Beavers). Parenting students are hard-working and resilient. They are here at OSU to not only be successful as individuals, but for their family too, sharing the value of education with their children. I’ve been on campus long enough now that children of past parenting students are now students at OSU themselves. How could I not be passionate about higher education and parenting students?
Why is child care an important issue for students and staff?
Early Care & Education (ECE/child care) is a basic need for parenting students and employees. It costs around $1,500 per month for center-based infant care. A parent with an infant and a preschooler who comes to OSU for school or work is probably going to be paying about $2,500 per month. Many OSU families have moved here to go to school or work, so aren’t near family and friends who might be able to help with child care. Waitlists for openings at ECE programs can be long, especially for the high-quality programs that have educated and highly responsive ECE providers, developmentally appropriate learning materials and safe, engaging and child focused learning environments. Parents looking for affordable high-quality care can struggle with finding one that has an opening, and that may interfere with a students or employees ability to get to class and/or work.
What advice would you give the younger version of yourself who was just starting college?
As an employee there are so many resources, supports, activities, events, etc. that I never knew about and/or got involved with when I was a student here at OSU. My advice would be to get more involved in activities and out-of-the-classroom learning opportunities, plus access the resources/services on campus there to support you as a whole person.
How does OLV fill an important gap in childcare coverage for faculty and students?
At Our Little Village (OLV), we offer short-term reservable and drop-in early care and education. Parents are able to change their schedules on a term-by-term basis, plus only use care for the time they need or want it, within the options of care offered. With drop-in care, OLV is able to be back-up care for a family, if other care plans fall through on a particular day. A more traditional ECE/child care program isn’t typically able to provide back-up care or flexibility with schedule changes each term. Plus, a parent who really needs or wants short-term/part-time care during various points in time, might need to pay full-time rates at a traditional program, to ensure they have care.
Why is it important to have an emphasis on play in childcare environments?
Play is foundational to growth and development for young children. Children learn about their world and begin developing important skills they will use throughout their life when they play. As Fred Rogers from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood once said, “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”
What was your favorite course in college?
My favorite course was HDFS 430. When I took the course, students were in the Child Development Center for about four hours per day, teaching and caring for children, leading large and small groups of children, developing and implementing lesson plans and more! I enjoyed the courses where I was learning, reading books, having discussions, etc., but with HDFS 430 I got to actually see and try out what I had been learning, discussing and reading about.
Has the demand for childcare on campus changed over the years?
Yes, as the surrounding communities and OSU have grown, the Early Care & Education (ECE) capacity has not been able to keep up, due to many factors. The community also lost ECE capacity during COVID. Overall, ECE/child care is not a “money-making” business (thus why you often find programs in churches/community buildings where they are likely not having to pay any type of rent/building expenses), so when temporary closures occurred during COVID, some programs were unable to recover and get back open again. OSU’s growth brings more students and employees from farther away, so as I mentioned previously, they are less likely to have family and friends near to help with care. They are very dependent on the ECE/child care programs on campus and in the community.
What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
It is a privilege, and it is rewarding to build relationships with and provide programming and support for some of OSU’s most amazing students. Those students are balancing school/work/family, are modeling grit, determination and the value of education for their children, are going to college for themselves and their family, to persist and graduate. To meet a parenting student when they first arrive at OSU to all the successes and challenges in between to when they graduate and leave OSU, that’s a reward. It is also rewarding to work within the Family Resource Center, a team passionate about advocating for, supporting and providing services/resources for parenting students and employees at OSU, as well as high-quality Early Care & Education for young children.
We have children at OLV who start as infants and stay with us until they head off to school and then sometimes they even come back for after-school care. To see their growth and development, whether they are with us a few terms or a few years, is so rewarding. Mentoring and training the student employees who are working and providing care in the OLV classrooms is also so important. We teach them the importance of building relationships with children and families, how to be an employee and a coworker, how to meet children where they are and show them the value of play.
What is your favorite non-academic pursuit or passion?
I have a few, gardening, reading, volunteering in the community and watching/cheering for my kids during their sports and activities (and life in general).