A new learning community is helping women who are at transitional stages in their lives to adapt at Iowa State.

Women Exploring Careers, Academics, and Networks! (WE CAN!) was created to support women who are currently receiving or have recently stopped receiving some form of government assistance, said Penny Rosenthal, director of Off-Campus and Adult Student Services.

“The goal of this community is to provide academic and social support for women in transition,” she said.

Rosenthal and Lisa Enloe, practical placement coordinator for the human development and family studies department, started the program.

“We realize how hard it is to go to school when you have children. We wanted to provide the support and encouragement these women need to stay in school,” she said.

Enloe said after they began to organize their ideas, they submitted proposals for financing. The Iowa Women’s Foundation, an organization that provides money to programs that empower women and girls in Iowa, provided a grant to help make WE CAN! possible.

Mary Winter, associate dean of Family and Consumer Sciences, said WE CAN! is beneficial because it is comforting for these women to meet others who are in a similar situation.

“It helps to reduce their feelings of being alone,” she said. “We try to help them understand that there are other people around just like them who can support them.”

Ten women in the group attend the monthly meetings to discuss their problems and concerns, Enloe said.

“Academics are a high priority in our discussions because they are students and that is why they are here, but we also help them to find the support services they need,” she said.

Laura Armstrong, graduate student in English and higher education, said she joined the group in November and now serves on the advisory board.

“I received public assistance as an undergrad, and I really had a hard time. I would have loved to have had a group like this around when I needed it,” she said. “I joined to see what I could do to help.”

Armstrong said WE CAN! has been great because it helped her realize other people can relate to her problems.

“The best part is being able to talk about what is bothering me,” she said, “just knowing that when I am at my wit’s end that there is someone to talk to.”

Rosenthal said the only obstacle the learning community has faced so far is membership.

“The population of students is busy, and because of the positions that they are at in their lives, getting them together in one place has been difficult,” she said. “We do encourage them to bring their children to the meetings because we do provide childcare.”

Enloe added that many women are hesitant to join because of the stigmas attached to those receiving public assistance, but she does ensure that all membership information is confidential.