Early Childhood Education: It Takes a Village

Blackhawk Tech is committed to making sure students have real-world opportunities to practice the skills they are learning. Early Childhood Education student Hannah Craig took this practice to the next level when she gave birth to her second child just a couple of months ago.

Hannah (pictured with her oldest child) went to work straight out of high school and thought she’d end up working factory jobs her whole life. The need to pay her bills and, eventually, parent her daughter locked her into a job. It had high stress and long hours, versus something that fed her passion.

Hannah always enjoyed working with children, and when she started dating her boyfriend Carl, he encouraged her to pursue that dream. Acting as cheerleader and caregiver for Hannah’s little girl Nara, Carl’s help gave Hannah the support she needed to start a journey toward her Associate’s Degree at Blackhawk Tech.

Little did she know, her own family would need her training in Early Childhood Education. When Hannah was pregnant with her son, doctors discovered that he had a bilateral cleft lip and palate. Along with his cleft lip and palate, little Cayden was born with CHARGE syndrome, which means that he had a coloboma of the eye and choanal atresia. His nose was completely blocked with bone and tissue. He was rushed from Javon Bea in Rockford to Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee soon after his birth, where he stayed in the NICU for two weeks.

“The tissue keeps wanting to grow back,” Hannah said, “so his surgeon is trying different ways to keep it open. Cayden will need surgery every two weeks until his body figures out that the tissue is not supposed to grow there.” Despite all of these challenges in his early weeks of life, Hannah says Cayden is “a happy, thriving newborn.”

Approximately 2500 children are born with a cleft lip and cleft palate in the United States each year. While these children grow up and live full and healthy lives, the road to recovery passes through regular doctor appointments and surgeries. It’s difficult enough to juggle family life and school, but add a pandemic and a child with significant medical needs, and the challenge increases ten-fold.

Designated as an essential worker because of her childcare position, Hannah kept working during the pandemic until her doctor ordered her home. Being successful with these challenges involves depending on a broader community. Hannah relied on her instructors and classmates to help her stay up to date in her classes.

“I am amazed at how supportive the other students have been to Hannah,” said Early Childhood Instructor Michelle Weirich. “They are dropping off supplies at her home that she needs for labs in the STEM courses and making sure she stays on top of her homework.”

Hannah is appreciative of all in the BTC family who have helped her continue working toward her goals, including her classmates, advisors, and instructors. “I couldn’t be more thankful for their support and guidance,” she said. After graduating from Blackhawk, Hannah is planning to attend UW Whitewater to finish her bachelor’s degree.

When asked what advice she would give other students, Hannah encourages them to stay on top of their homework and to reach out to instructors when you need help. But, most importantly, “Work hard and know that homework is temporary. Your degree will be so worth it.”

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