According to the U.S. Census Bureau there are approximately 13.6 million single parents in the United States - parents who are responsible for raising 21.2 million children, an estimated 26 percent of those children are under 21. No one wants to be a statistic, least of all Melanie Watkins, who discovered she was pregnant when she was 16 years old. As a young woman who had grown up dreaming of being a doctor, this realization was quite a blow.
Raised by a single mother, Watkins knew it was going to be a challenge to raise her child on her own and still pursue her dream. But that's exactly what she decided to do. Beating the odds, she has created a brighter future for herself and her son, a journey she details in "Taking my Medicine: My Journey from Teenage Mother to Physician."
A graduate of Stanford Medical School, Watkins, who now practices psychiatry at a county hospital in Northern California, will share her story at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 6 in Averett's Blount Chapel. The event is free and open to the public. Watkins' visit is part of the University's annual Authors on Campus Series.
