By SueAnn Howell, Communications Director of MiraVia
Tucked away in the back of Belmont Abbey’s campus, nestled at the end of a winding lane through the pine trees, is MiraVia – a welcoming residence for college student moms experiencing an unplanned pregnancy.
Opened in summer 2013 on land donated to MiraVia by the Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey, the College Residence accepted its first pregnant college student that fall. The privately funded residence for women pursuing higher education can accommodate up to 15 mothers and their children – free of charge – offering childcare, meals, life skills classes, and mentoring so they can focus on being a mom and achieving their educational goals.
Divine Providence In Action
Kathleen Reitemeyer Fleeman and her husband, Caleb Fleeman, were freshmen at Belmont Abbey College in the fall of 2019 when they met and fell in love. Kathleen didn’t know what MiraVia did, but when given the opportunity to volunteer at the banquet that October, she thought it sounded like fun, so she signed up.
“While volunteering at the banquet, I learned so much about the program and the great things MiraVia did for women in need,” Kathleen said. “Little did I know that I would be contacting Tina Darling (Residential Program Manager) at the College Residence just a few months later.”
Kathleen and Caleb found out in February 2020 that they were expecting a baby.
“Finding out I was pregnant was the scariest time in my life,” she recalled. “I was going through so many emotions and didn’t know what to do. But I am a ‘figure it out and cry later’ type of girl, so the afternoon I found out I was pregnant, I reached out to MiraVia to see if they could help.”
Kathleen met Darling at the College Residence the next week. “And that is when I finally let myself cry. I spent more time crying than talking, but Tina helped comfort me and told me all the options I had,” Kathleen said. “Leaving her office made me feel like something was going to go right and I was going to be able to continue going to school.”
Unfortunately, just weeks after their meeting, the COVID-19 pandemic forced colleges and universities all around the world to close campuses and send students home for a time.
“Once again, I felt lost and like I didn’t know where to go or what to do,” Kathleen said. “I was not in a good place mentally. But by the time the summer was over, I was able to move into the residence and start making it my new home.”
Kathleen recalls that as she settled in and got to know the other moms, they all became her closest friends. “I made lifelong friendships and was able to become the mom I am today,” she said.
The Fleemans welcomed a healthy baby, named Oliver, in November 2020, who is the delight of all of his extended family.
A Miraculous Way For Students
MiraVia, which in Latin means “miraculous way,” provided a life-affirming home for the Fleemans.
“MiraVia provided me with the closest feeling to a lighthouse in a stormy sea that I could have ever imagined,” Caleb said. “In a new, and most terrifying, situation, MiraVia granted me a sense of serenity and security. They welcomed me with open arms, and it was like I had known them my whole life.”
Caleb lived just up the winding road from MiraVia on campus, so he was able to spend time with Kathleen and Oliver during the day and be an active part of his son’s life during their time at the residence. He says that each and every member of the staff taught and guided him through the journey of being a parent.
“I went from being terrified and not knowing what to do, to being one of the favorite dads around that all the kids (at the residence) would come talk to and want to play with,” Caleb said.
Darling remembers the Fleemans fondly, and how Oliver and the other babies would get excited and run to the door when Caleb came to visit. “Kathleen and Caleb treated all residents and staff like family and were such a joy to be around,” she said. “I can recall their love for each other, their son, and the MiraVia community, that has really left a lasting impression.”
Grateful And Blessed
The Fleemans appreciate the support they received from MiraVia which gave them a stable environment in Oliver’s early years. Kathleen graduated on time with a degree in accounting from Belmont Abbey College in May 2023, and Caleb graduated from Pfeiffer University with a degree in English. Kathleen is now employed at the accounting firm where she interned during college, and Caleb is a teacher.
The couple married in October 2023 – on the same weekend as the MiraVia banquet. They recently purchased their first home and will welcome their second child in November.
“We know firsthand that MiraVia does not just support families, it is a family,” Caleb said.
“MiraVia will always be an important part of our lives that made me into a mom, who graduated college, got a job, and was able to give her son the life he and I deserved,” Kathleen added. “Oliver and I will forever know MiraVia as our first home, and we are eternally grateful for the love and community we received.”
SueAnn Howell is the Communications Director of MiraVia, a Catholic non-profit serving women and their families in the greater Charlotte, North Carolina area since 1994. For more information on MiraVia’s College Residence and Outreach Center Programs, go to www.miravia.org.
