Back Story's Education and Conservation Work

My name is Story. I have lived a colorful life and picked up nicknames around the world, so some of you may know me as Mallaidh-Anne or Tam. I am thrilled to accept an offer to attend University College Dublin’s School of Irish, Celtic Studies and Folklore this autumn (2025).

Although I graduated at the top of my class in my undergraduate degree, and I happily earned a small scholarship through community service work in 2022, I cannot afford the cost of attendance on my own. I am therefore turning to my community for support. I do not ask lightly, and it is only after the encouragement and insistence of friends and family that I am finally taking this step.

I have dedicated the last eight years of my life to the study, preservation, interpretation, and presentation of natural resources and cultural heritage. Much of my work has focused on providing free education programs to people of all ages and backgrounds. Whether I’m leading fifth graders on a tree-identification hike or giving a virtual presentation to local senior centers on the five Pacific Northwest salmon species, I am so grateful to be doing this work!

It's my ambition to continue and expand my work, in service to ecological conservation and community involvement, focused on the intrinsic link between cultural and natural heritage.

Upon earning my undergraduate degree in West Virginia in 2019, I moved to Ireland for a marine conservation internship, which extended to a long-term offer. When the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted my work, I moved to Alaska and then Washington state to work on numerous salmon, seal, and whale conservation projects.

In 2023, I was thrilled to accept an unconditional offer to UCD for 2024. Unfortunately, health complications exacerbated by a Covid-19 infection interrupted my path, and I had to defer my offer for one year.

I pivoted to a work-from-home job with less physical demands, to focus on intensive, weekly medical treatments and to save money for school. In my free time, I continued my conservation work with my former colleagues, as a volunteer for the marine mammal rescue team. I also co-founded a grassroots nonprofit which serves Queer people in rural, island communities.

While my health has vastly improved so I can confidently succeed in school, I was impacted by layoffs in November 2024, dashing my school-savings goal. Despite my tireless efforts, I have yet to find full-time work. Like many Queer people who grew up in Appalachia, I have tangled with poverty in adulthood and even overcome homelessness. I work hard to keep up with everyday expenses, but I have no savings. I cannot defer a second time.

This GoFundMe will cover immediate costs, including tuition, residency permits, and course fees. It will supplement other costs, including accommodations, health insurance, and class materials. This is a one-year graduate degree program, and I am seeking support for one year.

As a donor, you will play a crucial role in my life, empowering me to work my hardest and secure a future that would be otherwise out of reach. This may be a one-year program, but it will chart the course I follow for the rest of my life.

If you have income to spare and the desire to support my future, I gratefully accept your donation. If you cannot donate, you can share a link to this campaign to offer support.

This campaign will end August 1, 2025, to meet my tuition and relocation deadlines.

Thank you, sincerely, for empowering me to continue my work and education and dedicate myself to ecological and cultural conservation!

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I have a roughly $5,000 education award from my year of service in Americorps (non-military, despite how it sounds. The work was for State Parks). If I use the award, I will have to pay taxes on the award in spring 2026 while I am still a student. I am also rigorously applying for grants and scholarships, although there are few. I am not eligible for enough federal student loans to cover the cost of tuition and course fees, but I have completed the FAFSA and will accept what federal loans are available to me.

This is the school-provided estimate for 2024/25. Costs may vary slightly for the 2025/26 school year):

Some of these costs are nonnegotiable (such as tuition), whereas some are high estimates. Having completed a four-year undergraduate degree, and having also traveled to Ireland, I know I will not spend $1,000 USD on a printer or $1,000+ on flights.

Thank you again for your time and support!