Because every student parent deserves a fighting chance.
Sarah Boatner, Founder and Executive Director of Spark, Inc.Â
About Us
In 2022, I found out I was pregnant. It didn't take long to realize that if my son and I were going to have the future I wanted for us, it was up to me to build it.
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Challenge accepted.
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When my son was just two months old, I enrolled in college. After spending the previous ten years in the workforce, I knew there would never be a perfect time to go back to school, so I stopped waiting for one.
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For the first year of his life, I was a full-time stay-at-home mom and a full-time STEM student. I was new to Northern Colorado, had no family nearby, and no real support system. Like many student parents, I spent countless hours trying to figure out how to balance classes, childcare, finances, and simply surviving.
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Along the way, I discovered something frustrating: resources existed, but finding them was often harder than qualifying for them. Information was scattered, systems didn't communicate with each other, and student parents were expected to somehow navigate it all while raising children and earning a degree.
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Out of necessity, I learned how to make it work. I found creative ways to overcome barriers, connect with resources, and continue moving forward as a single mom and honor student. But I also learned where the gaps were.
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As I continued my academic journey, I met some of the most hardworking, determined, and resilient people I've ever known; student parents. Student parents who were doing everything right and still struggling not because they lacked motivation, but because the system isn't designed with real life in mind.
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That's why I founded SPARK, Inc. Changing our future doesn't have to be this challenging.
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SPARK, Inc. was created because student parents deserve a fighting chance. We exist to connect student parents with practical, realistic support that helps them succeed from academia to career.
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Whether it's professional clothing, headshots, child-friendly study groups, career readiness resources, help navigating college systems, or connections to community partners, our goal is simple: remove barriers so parents can focus on building a better future for their families.
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Because when a student parent succeeds, the impact reaches far beyond the classroom. It changes the trajectory of an entire family.
Our Mission
Our mission is to help student parents successfully complete their education and transition into meaningful careers by removing barriers and connecting them with practical support, resources, and community.
We recognize that when a student parent succeeds, the impact extends far beyond the individual. Educational attainment creates new opportunities for entire families, helping build stronger futures for both parents and their children.
What We Believe
We believe that student parents do not struggle because they lack motivation, talent, or determination. Too often, they face barriers created by systems that fail to account for the realities of raising children while pursuing higher education.
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Our role is to help remove those barriers.
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By creating community, connecting families with resources, and providing practical support, we help student parents focus on what matters most: earning their degree, building a career, and creating a brighter future for their families.