Ocon says that the Harvard day-care system was too expensive and that schedules were not flexible enough to meet her needs. Ocon also wanted the chance to be more involved in Bailey's early education. Enrolling Bailey in the Bigelow Cooperative Day Care Center gave Ocon the opportunity to help out in the classroom on a volunteer basis.

Payanzo says that she looked into day care last semester and discovered some of the same problems that Ocon ran into.

"There are opportunities for graduate students and opportunities for Faculty," Payanzo says. "We're still part of the community. I've realized how much there could be structures that could make things easier."

According to Merry D. Touborg, director of communications for the Office of Human Resources, additional resources are available to Ocon and Payanzo. The Office of Work and Family, a branch of the Office of Human Resources, offers day care and a day-care referral service.

Although these services are largely targeted to Faculty and staff, students can use those that are not related to standard employee benefits, Touborg says.

Another complication that the FAO must factor in is the possibility that student mothers--taking fewer courses per term than their classmates--may remain at Harvard for more than eight terms. Miller says students who need more time to complete requirements must petition the Administrative Board. If they continue to demonstrate financial need, they may be awarded additional aid.

Although the College says it does as much as it can to provide for the needs of its students, the FAO does expect students to help themselves through loans and jobs. Family contributions are also factored in.

Both Ocon and Payanzo are work- study students, although the FAO substituted a Radcliffe grant for Payanzo's work- study job last semester, after she had just given birth.

"The College has clear limits on what it can do financially," Miller says.

But where the financial resources of Miller run short, Radcliffe Assistant Dean of Students Joanne L. Allen-Willoughby steps in. After being contacted a month ago by other members of the administration and by Ocon herself, Allen-Willoughby became interested in guaranteeing that current and future student mothers have access to all the resources available through the University.

"We are trying to be very creative to help Gina so we can make sure that she gets all of the funding that we can provide for her," Allen-Willoughby says, citing Ocon's commitment to improving resources available to other young parents. "She's a young woman at Radcliffe who is very interested in advancing women through their Harvard-Radcliffe careers no matter what their circumstances might be."

Allen-Willoughby says that Harvard has a responsibility to meet more than just the financial needs of mothers enrolled at the College.

"We are also trying to be of personal help for [Ocon] as well," Allen-Willoughby says. "I'm looking for resources for her throughout the community. What I'm finding, though, is that most other institutions, including other universities, do not have resources in place for student mothers."

Community Resources

But financial support is not the only thing that undergraduate mothers need in order to succeed at Harvard.