Ella’s House Launches Virtual Experience Simulating Challenges Faced by Pregnant, Parenting College Students

What if you were a pregnant college student with only $1,000 to your

name, no housing lined up, and a baby due in a month? Could you make it through?

Lipscomb University’s School of Computing was tasked by Ella’s House to develop and launch Dilemma, a first of-its-kind digital simulator built by students to highlight the real-life, impossible decisions facing pregnant and parenting college students – ones impacting both their financial stability and mental health.

The simulator was developed through Lipscomb’s Software Studio course, where students function in a simulated tech company environment. Over a year-long partnership, undergraduate computer science students, under the guidance of Dr. Susan Hammond, collaborated with Ella’s House, a Nashville-based nonprofit supporting parenting students, to design and code Dilemma from the ground up.

“Dilemma is more than a virtual experience. It’s a wake-up call,” said Elise Jenkins, Executive Director of Ella’s House. “It reflects the real-life struggles of students we serve every day — young women who are determined to finish their degrees while raising children, often with no support.”

Dilemma guides players through a month in the life of a fictional college sophomore who is five months pregnant. Each choice, whether to fix a car, sleep in a shelter or skip a doctor’s appointment, has financial and mental health consequences. The goal? Survive the month without running out of money or mental resilience.

The simulator was developed with guidance from Ella’s House leadership and more than 25 real-life decisions faced by student parents. Student developers helped enhance the design by incorporating a dual-impact system that captures not just financial strain, but also mental exhaustion, allowing users to experience the emotional toll of each choice.

The launch of Dilemma aims to:

- Educate public and policy makers about the crisis faced by parenting students
- Encourage universities and government agencies to reform housing and academic support systems
- Inspire corporations and donors to invest in this resilient but underserved community

“The impact of this work extends far beyond Ella’s House,” said Jenkins. “Dilemma is a tool that can educate, shift perspectives and inspire change across our city and beyond.”

The Dilemma simulator is now live at https://ellashouse.org/Dilemma... and will be featured at a future public launch event/webinar. Attendees can participate in the simulation and hear firsthand from the student creators and the community it represents.