Lulu's College Tuition Fund

--Wishing you strength to resist and love--

As I move through different spaces, the decision to go back to school is both challenging and expensive.

I am humbly indebted to my wonderful mother who has tirelessly worked so that my brother and I can study and survive in this country. It is also thanks to my mother's wisdom that I continue to learn how to resist and exist in creative ways without ever losing my voice.

While at UIC, I look to my relationships and politics, believing firmly that sisterhood and community have brought me this far and that it's precisely these bonds that will allow me to continue moving through and above the chaotic education system.

Despite a few scholarships that have allowed me to envision the possibility of graduation, I have had to fundraise every semester since my transfer to UIC in the Spring 2013 from the City Colleges of Chicago. This is my fourth and second to last semester at UIC. It has taken me nearly seven years to complete my BA in Gender and Women’s studies and I expect to graduate Spring 2015!!! During the Fall 2013 semester, I was able to fundraise $1,395 with the help of all of you. I am so blessed to have met so many wonderful people who continue to believe in my growth.
However, unable to raise enough money to pay for my Spring 2014 semester, I am now $4,000 in debt with the University of Illinois.

Consequently, my debt has been turned over to a private collections agency and is accumulating late and interest fees every month. I am currently unable to register for classes despite receiving an award from the Davis Putter Fund that will cover 2/3 of my tuition for the Fall 2014 and Spring 2015 semesters. The total monies I need to raise in order to graduate is $8,000.

I am humbly reaching out to community to ask that you consider donating to my college tuition fund and/or share this page with your friends, family and colleagues.

The love I have received and the love I have been allowed to give has deeply transformed my life in ways that I will reflect on for the rest of my life.

I look forward to continue learning, growing and transforming myself, our vision of justice and liberation and cultivate spaces that foster love and self determination.

With love and gratitude,

Lulu Martinez