Joshua Duarte

The sun has yet to rise when Abby Adams wakes in order to help her son, Gauge Golji, 6, get up and dress for school. Before Gauge boards the 7 a.m. school bus that will take him to Berea Community Elementary School, Abby tells him, &#8220;Give me my three.&#8221; Gauge obliges with three kisses before getting on the bus.
While Abby won&#8217;t see Gauge again until later afternoon, almost everything she does all day will be for his sake.
A single mother, Abby takes classes at Berea College Monday through Thursday mornings where she is a technology and applied-design major with minors in sustainability and environmental studies. Like all Berea College students, Abby, a senior, pays no tuition, working instead at on-campus jobs, which relieves a bit of stress from her already chaotic day.
After classes she works as a teacher&#8217;s aide at Berea College for Dr. Daniel Huck&#8217;s class. Abby is also the community coordinator for the Berea College Ecovillage. Her job consists of compacting the residents&#8217; trash and setting up the Common House where she helps organize events twice a month for Ecovillage residents. As part of her job, Abby is on call all night in case residents have problems with their apartments.
Afternoons Abby returns to the Ecovillage where she does homework or housework. After she picks up Gauge from the Berea College Child Development Lab, she plays with him in their living room.
&#8220;Where&#8217;s my little monkey?&#8221; she asks him as she tickles him on their couch. Then she makes dinner for Gauge and herself.
After dinner, Abby tucks Gauge into bed.
&#8220;Lie with me, Mommy,&#8221; he pleads, and she does for a minute. She gives him a few kisses and holds him tight before she turns out the lights and goes downstairs.
Back in the kitchen, she works on homework if she wasn&#8217;t able to finish it before she picked up Gauge. If she doesn&#8217;t have homework, she can finally rest, although her night may be interrupted with a call from another resident.
The next day, she will repeat the routine – all for the sake of Gauge.

For Gauge’s sake