University of Minnesota Student Parent Help Center

University of Minnesota Student Parent Help Center The Student Parent Help Center offers programs and services for UMN student parents and their little Gophers

The HELP Center offers various academic and family support services and programming to student parents registered in any undergraduate college on the Twin Cities campus. All HELP Center administered grants and funded programs are restricted to undergraduate, first B.A., students meeting basic income and other eligibility criteria. Staff hours:
Susan Warfield, LICSW
Program Director
Monday-Friday,

9 am-5 pm

Melanie Soland, LISW
Student Parent Counselor
Monday-Friday, 8 am-4 pm

Mitchell Will
Undergraduate Student Employee
Monday/Wednesday: 12:45-5 pm, Tuesday: 2:30-5 pm, Friday 8 am-5 pm

Karyn Cave
Graduate Social Work Intern
Tuesday/Wednesday: 8 am- 4 pm

Tricia Hendren
Graduate Social Work Intern
Monday/Tuesday: 8 am- 4 pm

Get to know SPHC staff at our next event on March 4th from 11-1 pm in our student lounge! Here is an introduction from S...
02/11/2025

Get to know SPHC staff at our next event on March 4th from 11-1 pm in our student lounge!

Here is an introduction from SPHC Undergraduate Student Employee Olivia Ost:

My name is Olivia and I am a senior pursuing a bachelors of science in psychology. I am not certain what I would like to do with that but I hope to go to grad school and eventually get a PhD in developmental psych. In the future I would like to work with kids. I just finished working in ABA at a clinic for kids with Autism, which has really inspired me in my future career goals.

Get to know SPHC staff at our next event on March 4th from 11-1 pm in our student lounge! Here is an introduction from S...
02/11/2025

Get to know SPHC staff at our next event on March 4th from 11-1 pm in our student lounge!

Here is an introduction from SPHC Master of Social Work Intern Natalia Johnson:

I attended the University of Minnesota Twin-Cities as an undergraduate honors student with a double major in Spanish and Sociology. After a few years of full time work, I have returned to UMN as a graduate student to pursue a Master of Social Work. My own mother would have benefited greatly from the SPHC had she known about the program when she attended UMN in the 90s when she was pregnant with me, so I am passionate about spreading the word about the SPHC and the support it provides to student parents so they can make it to graduation and beyond.

Get to know SPHC staff at our next event on March 4th from 11-1 pm in our student lounge! Here is an introduction from S...
02/11/2025

Get to know SPHC staff at our next event on March 4th from 11-1 pm in our student lounge!

Here is an introduction from SPHC Graduate Student Counselor Melanie Soland:

I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Augsburg University and a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. As a social worker, I have a broad range of experiences in different educational and social welfare settings working with both parents and children. I have worked at the Student Parent HELP Center in various capacities for over 8 years, most recently returning in August 2022 as the Graduate Student Parent Counselor after a 5-year-stint teaching English abroad in Okinawa, Japan. Having moved abroad with my own children, I think it is important to remember that, as parents, we are still allowed to pursue our own goals and dreams after our children come into our lives, and that when we do so, we also enrich the lives of our kiddos. I love having the opportunity to meet parenting U of M students to support them on their educational journeys and celebrate their successes!

Get to know SPHC staff at our next event on March 4th from 11-1 pm in our student lounge! Here is an introduction from S...
02/11/2025

Get to know SPHC staff at our next event on March 4th from 11-1 pm in our student lounge!

Here is an introduction from SPHC Undergraduate Student Parent Counselor Na king Xiong:

I attended the University of Minnesota Twin Cities as an undergraduate and graduate student where I received my Bachelor of Science degree in family social science in the spring of 2012 and my Master of Education degree in family education in the spring of 2016. I have experience working with parents and children throughout my student teaching in the Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) program in the Minneapolis Public School district. As a student teacher, I provided parenting services and resources available in the community as well as designed and taught lesson plans on various parenting topics that the parents were interested in. I also have experience working with a high-risk youth/young adult population throughout my position at MoveFwd as a case manager where I helped identify barriers and/or resources. A lot of the youth/young adults that I worked with were homeless, so I often helped with housing, education, employment, basic needs, locating a shelter and more. I joined the Student Parent Help Center, a program at the UMN TC that provides services and programming to pregnant and parenting students in the summer of 2017, and I have been with the program for seven academic school years going on eight. I am married with two boys, a five- and two-year-old. I enjoy jogging, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

Get to know SPHC staff at our next event on March 4th from 11-1 pm in our student lounge! Here is an introduction from S...
02/11/2025

Get to know SPHC staff at our next event on March 4th from 11-1 pm in our student lounge!

Here is an introduction from SPHC Program Director Susan Warfield:

I have spent most of my career working with, and advocating for, low-income families as a licensed clinical social worker. My career began right out of graduate school, working for the Denver Public Schools as a school social worker in under-served communities. Years later I transitioned into my own practice as a mental health therapist. My career transition into higher education was a conscious, planned choice which included two major, cross-country relocations. I made this career course correction due to my love for the work I did with college students as a therapist. I never could have imagined when I began that journey, finding a setting that so perfectly fits my social work training, my love for child and family work and commitment to educational justice as the position with the Student Parent HELP Center provides. I have enjoyed all aspects of my career, but I have never had any job bring as much joy and inspiration as working with pregnant and parenting students, both at the university and in our national advocacy work. I admire our students so very much and consider it an honor to assist them on their academic journey. And seeing the occasional baby photo or child running around the center is a special perk of the job.

On a personal note, I am an avid bookworm, nature photographer and am now studying Ikebana and dabble in many other art forms.

The SPHC looks forward to hosting its spring semester open house! This is a great opportunity to connect, especially for...
01/29/2025

The SPHC looks forward to hosting its spring semester open house! This is a great opportunity to connect, especially for new transfer student parents!

Current students! Please remember to file your 2025-26 FAFSA as soon as possible so you can be assessed for the best fin...
12/04/2024

Current students! Please remember to file your 2025-26 FAFSA as soon as possible so you can be assessed for the best financial aid for the next academic year. Waiting until the stated deadlines could mean losing aid due to predicted shortfalls in state aid.

The SPHC has updated its history board display outside our lounge in Appleby Hall! Swing on by and check it out!The cent...
11/19/2024

The SPHC has updated its history board display outside our lounge in Appleby Hall! Swing on by and check it out!

The center was originally founded in 1967, changed its name to the Student Parent Help Center in 1984 when it started focusing specifically on undergraduate student parents, and in 2016, its services expanded to include graduate and professional student parents.

We look forward to what the future of the SPHC has in store!

The SPHC is proud to display the artwork of the kiddos of our student parents in Appleby Hall!
10/15/2024

The SPHC is proud to display the artwork of the kiddos of our student parents in Appleby Hall!

Get to know the SPHC staff! The SPHC has a new bulletin board outside our room in Appleby Hall. UMN student parents are ...
09/25/2024

Get to know the SPHC staff! The SPHC has a new bulletin board outside our room in Appleby Hall. UMN student parents are welcome to drop in to use the center for studying, fridge and microwave use, free printing, and getting to know other student parents. Regular hours are 8 to 4 pm Monday through Friday. Hope to see you soon!

Address

Room 24 Appleby Hall, 128 Pleasant Street SE
Minneapolis, MN
55455

Telephone

+16126266015

Website

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