Ali's College Campaign
Donation protected
First of all, thank you for taking the time to read about why I’m doing a GoFundMe campaign. It’s very humbling to be in this position, where I am asking friends, family, and complete strangers to help. Truthfully, I didn’t even consider this avenue, until a dance mentor I greatly admire gave me the idea. She told me to do everything I could on my own to make my dream happen and then ask for help to make up the difference. So here I am…
I started dancing at age 3 and it didn’t take long to realize dance is my passion. By the age of 9, I was training at my studio, The Dance Club, 15-20 hours a week, studying jazz, ballet, contemporary, hip hop and tap. I sacrificed time with my friends and family to dance and they sacrificed a lot for me to train. I attended my first New York City Dance Alliance (NYCDA) Nationals in NYC when I was 11. My eyes were opened to the possibility of dance beyond high school and I immediately set a goal to attend college in NYC, where I could continue my dance studies and fulfill my dream of becoming a professional dancer/choreographer. I was aware of some amazing scholarship opportunities being offered to dancers and figured that a scholarship, along with financial help from my parents, would make a move to NYC possible. I continued to train long hours and compete at conventions across the country. With hard work and perseverance, I progressed towards my goal and things seemed to be falling into place…until 2016 when things literally fell apart. Without going into too much detail, my family lost everything we owned—house, cars, bank accounts, etc. My father was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison, my parents divorced, and my mom was now solely responsible for me and my three siblings. Knowing how important dance was to us and hoping that dance would provide normalcy and a supportive environment for me and my sisters during such a turbulent time, my mom began sewing for our dance studio in exchange for tuition, in addition to her new full-time job. To add insult to injury, I had ankle reconstruction surgery in July of 2017 and was unable to dance for 6 months. (This was only one week after my younger sister had major back surgery for severe scoliosis. It was a rough summer to say the least!) At some point in all of this chaos, I started backing away from my dream. I had taken an emotional beating that I was finding difficult to rise above and, more importantly, my mom was doing everything possible just to make ends meet and I figured there was no way I could afford to be a student in NYC on my own.
Fast forward to the end of 2017, when due dates for college applications were approaching. I was becoming stronger emotionally and physically, but I was still unsure of what my future held. I decided to apply to two schools in NYC and a local school in Utah. In January 2018, only a few weeks after I had started dancing post-surgery, I attended auditions in California for Pace University and Marymount Manhattan, both NYC schools with incredible dance programs. I was thrilled to learn a few months later that I had been accepted to both dance programs and offered scholarships. Unfortunately, neither offered full tuition, and I sadly assumed that this was the end of my dream. (Tuition and housing for schools in NYC runs about $60,000-$70,000 per school year—ya, crazy, I know!) I discussed this at length with my mom and dance mentors and felt like I needed to keep pushing forward and to not give up. I decided that Pace University was the best fit for me, since they have a dance program that prepares their dancers to work in the professional world of commercial dance and emphasize all of the genres I’ve trained in.
In the last few months, I have made every effort possible to secure funds for college. I have been cleaning solos, teaching dance classes, assisting/teaching at dance conventions, and working part time at a soda shop. I secured a job with NYCDA for the 2018-2019 tour and also auditioned for and was honored to receive a $10,000 scholarship from the NYCDA College Scholarship Foundation ($2,500 each year for 4 years).
In addition to my own efforts, I have already received some generous donations which have brought my obligations down to a much smaller number than it was originally. I still need $5000 to cover the rest of my tuition/books for the 2018-2019 school year, and that’s what brings me here to GoFundMe. If you have a dollar or two to spare, I would be forever grateful for your donation. “One good turn deserves another” and someday I promise I will pay this forward. I know that we are on this earth to help each other and I’m grateful to so many who have supported me throughout my life.
Thank you for taking the time to read this not-so-short explanation! Have a great day!
I started dancing at age 3 and it didn’t take long to realize dance is my passion. By the age of 9, I was training at my studio, The Dance Club, 15-20 hours a week, studying jazz, ballet, contemporary, hip hop and tap. I sacrificed time with my friends and family to dance and they sacrificed a lot for me to train. I attended my first New York City Dance Alliance (NYCDA) Nationals in NYC when I was 11. My eyes were opened to the possibility of dance beyond high school and I immediately set a goal to attend college in NYC, where I could continue my dance studies and fulfill my dream of becoming a professional dancer/choreographer. I was aware of some amazing scholarship opportunities being offered to dancers and figured that a scholarship, along with financial help from my parents, would make a move to NYC possible. I continued to train long hours and compete at conventions across the country. With hard work and perseverance, I progressed towards my goal and things seemed to be falling into place…until 2016 when things literally fell apart. Without going into too much detail, my family lost everything we owned—house, cars, bank accounts, etc. My father was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison, my parents divorced, and my mom was now solely responsible for me and my three siblings. Knowing how important dance was to us and hoping that dance would provide normalcy and a supportive environment for me and my sisters during such a turbulent time, my mom began sewing for our dance studio in exchange for tuition, in addition to her new full-time job. To add insult to injury, I had ankle reconstruction surgery in July of 2017 and was unable to dance for 6 months. (This was only one week after my younger sister had major back surgery for severe scoliosis. It was a rough summer to say the least!) At some point in all of this chaos, I started backing away from my dream. I had taken an emotional beating that I was finding difficult to rise above and, more importantly, my mom was doing everything possible just to make ends meet and I figured there was no way I could afford to be a student in NYC on my own.
Fast forward to the end of 2017, when due dates for college applications were approaching. I was becoming stronger emotionally and physically, but I was still unsure of what my future held. I decided to apply to two schools in NYC and a local school in Utah. In January 2018, only a few weeks after I had started dancing post-surgery, I attended auditions in California for Pace University and Marymount Manhattan, both NYC schools with incredible dance programs. I was thrilled to learn a few months later that I had been accepted to both dance programs and offered scholarships. Unfortunately, neither offered full tuition, and I sadly assumed that this was the end of my dream. (Tuition and housing for schools in NYC runs about $60,000-$70,000 per school year—ya, crazy, I know!) I discussed this at length with my mom and dance mentors and felt like I needed to keep pushing forward and to not give up. I decided that Pace University was the best fit for me, since they have a dance program that prepares their dancers to work in the professional world of commercial dance and emphasize all of the genres I’ve trained in.
In the last few months, I have made every effort possible to secure funds for college. I have been cleaning solos, teaching dance classes, assisting/teaching at dance conventions, and working part time at a soda shop. I secured a job with NYCDA for the 2018-2019 tour and also auditioned for and was honored to receive a $10,000 scholarship from the NYCDA College Scholarship Foundation ($2,500 each year for 4 years).
In addition to my own efforts, I have already received some generous donations which have brought my obligations down to a much smaller number than it was originally. I still need $5000 to cover the rest of my tuition/books for the 2018-2019 school year, and that’s what brings me here to GoFundMe. If you have a dollar or two to spare, I would be forever grateful for your donation. “One good turn deserves another” and someday I promise I will pay this forward. I know that we are on this earth to help each other and I’m grateful to so many who have supported me throughout my life.
Thank you for taking the time to read this not-so-short explanation! Have a great day!
Organizer
Ali Deucher
Organizer
Orem, UT