by NIKKI ROBERTI
Lifestyles Reporter

Senior Chuck L. Safrit sits in a dark concert hall with 8-year-old daughter Caitlyn, watching his billionth concert required for his music industry and education major.

It’s 8 p.m. and past her bedtime.

It will be a rough day at school for her tomorrow, but that’s just an average situation for this single father.

Still, he loves his daughter Caitlin and said she’s completely a daddy’s little girl.

 Safrit is the rehearsal assistant for the Appalachian State University Marching Mountaineers and Caitlin often comes to games, yelling more than he does.

He said he couldn’t imagine his life without her.

“I could, but it would be a very bleak picture and I wouldn’t want to, as much hell as she gives me,” he said.

He began school at Appalachian in spring 1998 until December 2001, where he left school for a music industries internship which later led to a job.

In 2000, his girlfriend found out she was pregnant, which was unexpected, especially since she was in her senior year of high school.

“For me I instantly shot into responsibility mode, I guess, and started laying out the rest of the plans,” he said.

They were married in July 2000, and his wife and daughter moved up with him and lived in Mountaineer Apartments.

Safrit always wanted a family, so having his daughter really did not change his plans much; but rather, moved up the timetable.

However, due to not being able to handle the responsibilities of being a wife and mother, he and his wife divorced December 2001.

Safrit now has full custody of his daughter and re-enrolled at Appalachian in 2006 after predictions the music company for which he worked would fold.

Although he loves his daughter, he said each day he struggles with being a student and a father.

“It’s got its good points, but it’s also really tough, especially coming back to school,” he said. “Like now, I don’t work because I don’t have time in my day to actually have a job. I’ve been essentially living off of financial aid for three years. That ran out last year. I’m on private loans now.”

In the past three years, Safrit estimates he has taken out over $30,000 in loans.

Sometimes, Safrit does feel like he and his daughter go without.

“I really need to buy her some new clothes right now, but I’m going to have to scrounge to see how much I actually have left for tuition next semester,” he said. “She understands a little more that I’m in school and that I’m having to sacrifice things and she has to sacrifice things too.”

But more than ever, Safrit is determined to get his degree, despite the struggles of having neither income nor health care.

He said some days he just calls his parents to complain about classes and even to have a breakdown.

“It’s tough. It really is,” he said. “Stress gets to you. Stick with it. Sticking with it is all you can do.”

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