How One Transportation Emergency Can Keep Parents From Achieving Their College Dreams (Abigail Seldin)

How One Transportation Emergency Can Keep Parents From Achieving Their College Dreams (Abigail Seldin)

Author: StreetsblogUSA May 22, 2025 Duration: 21:16

One in five U.S. college students are also parents with children of their own — and in many cases, a single unexpected expense can be enough to force them to drop out before they earn their degrees. And too often, that emergency comes in the form of a transportation challenge like a cancelled bus route or a flat tire that keeps them from ever reaching the classroom.

In honor of Mother's Day and Father's Day on The Brake, we're talking to Abigail Seldin of Scholarship America about the 3.8 million students who are earning degrees while raising families, and how they're helping them access the emergency funds they need to keep moving towards their higher education dreams. And along the way, we revisit Seldin's past work on the challenges of getting students of all ages to class in a car dependent country, and explore why the "safe routes to school" movement tends to stop around 12th grade.

Listen up below, visit their site to donate, and learn more about the stories of the parent-scholars whose lives they've already helped.

To donate to St. Louis's tornado relief efforts, please visit ActionSTL, LoveTheLou, the Urban League of St. Louis, the St. Louis Community Foundation, or any of the organizations listed here.


You hear a lot about electric cars and futuristic transit, but what about the fundamental shift required to build cities where driving isn't a daily necessity? That's the terrain explored on The Brake: A Streetsblog Podcast. Hosted by the team at StreetsblogUSA, this series moves beyond the headlines to engage with the activists, planners, writers, and community members who are actively reimagining American streets. Each conversation digs into the real-world work of dismantling car dependency, examining the policy choices, cultural norms, and historical decisions that got us here. The discussions are grounded in the intersecting categories of society, commentary, culture, and news, offering a nuanced lens on everything from bike lane debates and public transit equity to the subtle ways our built environment shapes daily life. This isn't just a technical talk about infrastructure; it's about the human stories and the political movement fighting for safer, more connected, and less congested communities. Tune in for a podcast that acts as a vital pit stop for understanding the complex, often frustrating, but ultimately hopeful push to take our foot off the gas and build a different future.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 89

The Brake: A Streetsblog Podcast
Podcast Episodes
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Duration: 20:46
Autonomous vehicle giant Waymo is starting to experiment with subscription packages for teens — including those too young to drive. But as America's kids gain high-tech motorized independence, what will they lose in exch…
Does Constant Driving Really Make our Country Richer? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:00
We've all heard the argument that the soul of America's economy is based on how much we all love to drive. But does the data support the narrative that cars connect us to far-flung opportunities to make and spend more mo…
How Media and Culture Contribute to Traffic Violence (Myron Levin) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:15
How does our popular media normalize dangerous behavior on our roads — and does it even help create it? Today on The Brake, we're talking about the role of culture in driving our road violence crisis, including car ads t…
Does 'Vision Zero' Need a Reset? (David Harkey) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:11
Cities across America have been trying — and mostly failing — to achieve Vision Zero for more than a decade. But is it really time to trade the goal of ending road deaths and serious injuries for the aim of reducing them…