KC Ciresi
Diapers and Diplomas
At 21, Abi Fitzgibbon is raising a toddler, earning a degree and starting her career—all at once.
In Pearce Ford Tower on Western Kentucky University's campus, Resident Assistant Abi Fitzgibbon sat shaking as she completed a pregnancy test. Thinking she was suffering from "Frat Flu," Fitzgibbon could not imagine a reality where she was pregnant.
"It was positive before I was done peeing on the stick," she said.
"It was positive before I was done peeing on the stick," she said.
Abi Fitzgibbon is frequently distracted at the grocery by her daughter, Scout's, silly giggles and attempts to play Peek-A-Boo. "Where is Scout? We will never know," Fitzgibbon said.
Staring at the positive test, Fitzgibbon had a decision to make. She made her way back to her boyfriend of six months, Noah Namvong's, dorm room. Revealing the news, Namvong asked the question: "What do you want to do?"
"I'm breaking up with you," Fitzgibbon said.
This reaction did not stem from fear or grief, Fitzgibbon always knew she wanted to have a child. "I just remember sitting on the toilet, taking the pregnancy test, and my only reaction was, “Oh my God, I’m a mother now,” she said. That was it. That was the only thought I had for like three days straight."
"I'm breaking up with you," Fitzgibbon said.
This reaction did not stem from fear or grief, Fitzgibbon always knew she wanted to have a child. "I just remember sitting on the toilet, taking the pregnancy test, and my only reaction was, “Oh my God, I’m a mother now,” she said. That was it. That was the only thought I had for like three days straight."
Noah Namvong plays with his daughter Scout at his fiancé's graduation party on May 4, 2025.
Fitzgibbon knew she was choosing to keep the baby, but she also knew this was not the choice her boyfriend would have made. "I told him, 'I’m pro-choice, and I’m making this decision on my own," she said. "All I asked him for was the money he would’ve given me if I’d chosen an abortion."
Although Fitzgibbon did not want to leave her boyfriend, she also did not want to put him in a situation she knew would not be his first choice. "I told him, 'I know this isn’t what you wanted. I’m not forcing you into anything, but I’m keeping the baby," Fitzgibbon said.
To this, she recalled Namvong responded only with, 'Then I’m a father. I’m dropping out of school. I need to be able to provide for my family."
In the months that followed, the young couple got used to their life as pregnant while Fitzgibbon completed her tasks as a Family Consumer Science major with a concentration in Education. Although she was still in school, her perspective had shifted.
Although Fitzgibbon did not want to leave her boyfriend, she also did not want to put him in a situation she knew would not be his first choice. "I told him, 'I know this isn’t what you wanted. I’m not forcing you into anything, but I’m keeping the baby," Fitzgibbon said.
To this, she recalled Namvong responded only with, 'Then I’m a father. I’m dropping out of school. I need to be able to provide for my family."
In the months that followed, the young couple got used to their life as pregnant while Fitzgibbon completed her tasks as a Family Consumer Science major with a concentration in Education. Although she was still in school, her perspective had shifted.
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People kept asking me why I wasn't at these little club events and I'm like 'I'm creating my own club right now.
Fitzgibbon shows off her new Mother's Day sweater, a gift from her friend Mary Claire Stukenborg at her graduation party on May 4, 2025. Fitzgibbon also showed off her emerald engagement ring to her friends while celebrating her impending graduation. "It's such an exciting and overwhelming time right now," she said.
Although school while pregnant was difficult, Fitzgibbon managed to stay focused throughout her pregnancy and into her daughter, Scout's, early life. To support her through motherhood and school, Namvong works almost seven days a week to provide for his family, while also taking on the house-husband role while he is home. "Even though he works on the weekend afternoons he still will watch Scout in the morning so I can study and get assignments done," she said. "And now with my teaching job, our schedules are perfect mirrors of each other because I work in the mornings and he works the evenings."
As of October 2024, Fitzgibbon has been working as a long-term substitute Family Consumer Science teacher at Warren East Middle School. This month, she found out she received a teaching grant of $500 for materials in her classroom, got engaged, and Scout turned two. "All of the teachers there [at Warren East] are so nice and supportive of everything I have going on right now," she said. "At the end of the year there's a big banquet for student and teacher appreciation which is super nice."
As of October 2024, Fitzgibbon has been working as a long-term substitute Family Consumer Science teacher at Warren East Middle School. This month, she found out she received a teaching grant of $500 for materials in her classroom, got engaged, and Scout turned two. "All of the teachers there [at Warren East] are so nice and supportive of everything I have going on right now," she said. "At the end of the year there's a big banquet for student and teacher appreciation which is super nice."
Fitzgibbon finds it easier to keep Scout on her chest while out and about, but as she gets bigger, Fitzgibbon's small stature struggles periodically.
With a child, college fees and beginning their careers, Fitzgibbon and Namvong have a tight routine for their finances. "One covers groceries for the month and the other covers rent, then we switch," she said.
When buying groceries, the couple tries to stick to the necessities to avoid unnecessary spending. "When we get married we will create a joint account and whatever is extra we will use for vacation that year," she said.
Going from feeling like a kid in a college dorm to a mother living with her partner, there was a learning curve in financial success. "We had to find what worked for us, and Noah works his ass off to provide for us, too," she said.
When buying groceries, the couple tries to stick to the necessities to avoid unnecessary spending. "When we get married we will create a joint account and whatever is extra we will use for vacation that year," she said.
Going from feeling like a kid in a college dorm to a mother living with her partner, there was a learning curve in financial success. "We had to find what worked for us, and Noah works his ass off to provide for us, too," she said.
Scout allows the young couple to remind themselves to enjoy the mundane, such as grocery shopping. "She is just a ball of energy," Fitzgibbon said.
Throughout the process of becoming a mother, nearing the end of her academic career and landing her first teaching job, Fitzgibbon has transformed as a person. "Honestly, I'm meaner," she smirked. "I am so much quicker to draw a boundary and just say no." Whether this shift stemmed from motherly instincts or her fierce determination to succeed, Fitzgibbon has used this new-found skill to her advantage. "I graduate this Friday, I am so excited," she said.
Scout has given the couple a heightened sense of responsibility and maturity, but she has also added a child-like whimsy into their lives they will never take for granted. "She is such a happy kid," Fitzgibbon said. "She reminds me to love the little parts of life."
Scout has given the couple a heightened sense of responsibility and maturity, but she has also added a child-like whimsy into their lives they will never take for granted. "She is such a happy kid," Fitzgibbon said. "She reminds me to love the little parts of life."
