‘I can’t imagine where I would be or how I would be as a mother if MiraVia did not exist’
Pictured: Belmont Abbey College graduate Emily Smith and her son Avery were residents at MiraVia for the past two years. The 10,000-square-foot college maternity residence opened in 2012 and has served 13 women and their children, with seven women and five children currently living there. For more information on MiraVia, go to www.mira-via.org. (Photos provided by Debbie Capen)BELMONT — Motherhood can be a challenging vocation – even more so when the pregnancy is unplanned and the mom-to-be is a young college student.
Enter MiraVia, a non-profit Catholic maternity home for college students who choose life for their unborn child. MiraVia, located on the Belmont Abbey College campus since 2013, gives hope to mothers of all faith backgrounds, and the help they need to achieve their academic and parenting goals. It now houses eight mothers and four children.
“MiraVia is unique in its approach to serving pregnant women who lack support,” says Debbie Capen, MiraVia’s executive director. “By eliminating many of the barriers to higher education and a better quality of life, we are empowering pregnant women to create bright, healthy futures for themselves and their children.”
MiraVia recently said goodbye to its 13th resident and fourth Belmont Abbey College graduate – Emily Smith, a student athlete who lived there for two years after giving birth to her son Avery.
Emily found MiraVia after learning she was pregnant in 2015. The baby’s father, also a Belmont Abbey College student, was from San Diego at the time, and her parents lived five hours away in New Bern, NC. If she was going to keep the baby and raise it herself while she kept up her college studies, she needed help.
“I was raised in a Catholic, pro-life family so when I found out I was pregnant, the thought of having an abortion never once occurred to me. I also knew growing up that I wanted to have children of my own, so right away I also ruled out adoption as well,” Emily says. “When I contacted Anthony (the baby’s father) he was very supportive and never pushed me towards doing anything that I did not want to do. Right away, we both decided that we wanted this family and started making plans from that moment.”
“At first I did not want to live at MiraVia because I assumed that it was going to be completely different from what I discovered it to be,” she says. “Anthony and I were planning to live together without taking MiraVia into consideration.”
Emily’s mother Edie remembers seeing MiraVia from a distance when they toured the Belmont Abbey College campus in 2013.
“I inquired about the building in the distance by the cemetery,” she recalls. “The student guide mentioned that there was a home for single and unwed mothers on campus. I recalled thinking to myself at that moment what a wonderful ministry that the college had.”
When she learned of Emily’s pregnancy, her mom says, “We didn’t know what we were going to do. For my husband and me, it was a matter of would our daughter come home to have the baby and go to a local college, or postpone college indefinitely?” As they weighed whether to raise the baby themselves so that Emily could finish her junior and senior years at Belmont Abbey College, Edie remembered the campus maternity home.
It was the answer to their prayers.
“We prayed a lot about our decision and asked God to lead us in all of our choices,” Edie says. “We wanted to be sure that there was going to be help for our daughter as a new mom and everything else that goes along with having a baby. The distance was going to prohibit me from helping her as much as I wanted to.”
At her mother’s urging, Emily met with Capen, who was very supportive.
“We eventually decided that this would be the very best option for both of us since we were still in school,” Emily says. “Anthony would still be in his apartment on campus and I would be living at MiraVia just next door. I would still be able to attend classes, go to my lacrosse practices, and see Anthony whenever I wanted without the stresses of finances.”
Emily gave birth to her son Avery in January 2016, and in December 2017 she received a bachelor’s degree in biology.
“When I think back to my past two years and watching Avery grow up in this environment, I can’t imagine where I would be or how I would be as a mother if MiraVia did not exist,” she says. “Honestly, I am excited for the day when I can tell Avery how he spent the first two years of his life and who he spent it with.”
“There are so many things that I love about MiraVia that it is so hard to narrow it down,” she says.
“Right away MiraVia became my home, and everyone who is a part of this program, staff and residents became my family. I love that I was able to start a family in such a nurturing environment. I love how I can just talk to any of the staff members and volunteers like I talk to my mom or dad. One of the things that I cherish the most is the relationships that I have made with the other residents and that I am able to help them through their journey of motherhood as well.”
She adds, “It has also been amazing that I was able to graduate on time while balancing school, sports, and becoming a mother. I definitely would not have accomplished that without MiraVia and the support that they offer, especially when it came to child care and our basic needs.”
She encourages other young woman who may find themselves in a similar situation to “trust in God’s plan for them and to be patient because they will get to where they want to be in life. Two years ago I did not think I would be in this situation that I am today. I have a healthy child and a bachelor’s degree.”
Edie and her family have also been grateful for the love and support Emily received.
“All we can say is, God is good! As parents to a resident there, we were very happy with everything that MiraVia and the staff has done for our daughter. She received financial education classes and child care support, which allowed her to continue her studies and graduate with a bachelor’s degree in biology. She also received counseling and support to help her with being a young mother and being a college student.”
After graduating from both Belmont Abbey College and MiraVia, Emily now moves on to the next phase of her life. She wants to pursue a master’s degree, and she and Anthony plan to marry, find a home of their own and, she says, “have more children!”
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
