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When Akiya Parks first got to campus at the University of Florida, everything was new and exciting. Her mom and brother had driven her to campus and moved her into the dorms, she’d agreed to try a long-distance relationship with her high school boyfriend, she was ready to start a new chapter in Gainesville.

This was a dream come true: No one in Parks’ family had ever gone to college before, and her good grades, volunteer work and commitment to her community had earned her a full-ride scholarship — nearly everything was paid for. She got a new laptop, she bonded with her roommate and she crafted her schedule.

But a few weeks into classes, she started feeling sick. At first, she thought college food just wasn’t sitting well, but it wasn’t the food.

She was pregnant.

“I went back to my dorm, crying. Devastated,” Parks recalls. “I didn’t know how college worked. Do they kick out pregnant people? I just didn’t know any of the answers to my questions.”

The question on everyone’s mind — especially Parks — was, would she say in school? Could you go to class and raise a child?

‘Do They Kick Out Pregnant People?’ Navigating College With Kids

Photos: Elissa Nadworny/NPR