National University, in partnership with the YMCA of San Diego County, opened a new "co-learning" hub at its San Diego campus on Friday to better support students who are parents, navigating their careers or serving in the military.
The newly-remodeled space called "The Nest" — an homage to the university's mascot, Navi, a peregrine falcon — is located on NU's main campus in Kearny Mesa. It will provide a variety of academic, career and family support services, including writing coaches, collaborative study spaces and affordable or free child care services.
Stream San Diego News for free, 24/7, wherever you are with NBC 7.
WATCH HERETheir new Samford Harmony Family Clubhouse will provide services such as parenting workshops, mental health resources and community events. Military students will also receive additional support through the school's new Veterans & Military Community Center.
"The typical student today is an ANDer: a learner that is balancing education and work, education and parenting, education and deployment, education and caring for aging parents," Dr. Mark David Milliron, president and CEO of NU, said in a press release.
Get top local San Diego stories delivered to you every morning with our News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP In an interview with NBC 7, he said he hopes the center supports local students who might not have the best home environment to study.
"Oftentimes, for our learners, home is not a quiet place. Sometimes, they don't have high-speed internet. Some of them, actually, home is not a safe place," he said.
The university said they also plan to open a second hub location in Escondido later this year.
Local
According to its website, NU was established in 1971 and is San Diego's largest private nonprofit university. It offers more than 190 online and on-campus programs to its 50,000 degree-seeking students and 80,000 workforce and professional students.
