Help Rein Graduate UT-Austin Grad School.
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In May 2017, I graduated from Texas A&M University - Texarkana with a BA in History and a BA in English, and I was excitedly anticipating the Fall semester, where I would be beginning my grad school journey at the University of Texas at Austin's Moody College of Communication. I was accepted to the MA in Media Studies program, and I looked forward to moving away to Austin, TX, jumping into a new field, and going to the school my dad had always dreamed I'd attend one day. I am a first-generation college student, so my family was immensely excited for my future in Austin.
Being at UT-Austin proved challenging and expensive, but never felt like I wasn't right where I needed to be. I loved the city and the school, so it was worth the work--both school and my part-time job at Dollar General--to be there.
In December 2018, I was ready to graduate in the next Spring semester. I'd made all A's in the program so far and I couldn't wait to make my dad proud and walk across that stage. Unfortunately, I got sick and had to stay back home in Texarkana, TX for a long time after Christmas break had ended.
I anticipated being in Texarkana for a month or two, so I moved all my work online. My incredible professors were all more than willing to work with me. Unfortunately, my grandmother fell ill as well in January, and I've been her primary caregiver in the home ever since. She is on Hospice now with advanced dementia and heart failure. She is incontinent, so she needs lots of help. It's just been my dad and me, and he works two jobs. I, on the other hand, have been able to work very little in order to stay with her.
With all the changes happening in my home life, my coursework didn't get done by May, I asked for extensions and registered for the Master's Report course again for Summer. I initially planned to wait until Fall to register for this course, but it was hundreds of dollars cheaper to do the Summer session. My dad and I pooled our funds and paid the price: $1835.00. It was all the money we had left.
Simultaneously, our lives got crazy again as several people left his job, and he picked up lots of extra work. This left me at home with my grandmother and not up at the library of my undergrad school, Texas A&M University - Texarkana, where I have been working from since I came home. Still, with needing to stay home and watch my grandmother, I have not finished everything this summer, either--however, I am nearly there.
I only have my Master's Report and one paper for one of the two classes I got extended to complete in order to graduate in the Fall. I've had both scholarship funds and a lot of loans to cover the program so far, and I am really nervous that I'm going to spend the next 10-20 years repaying loans for a degree I never earned if I cannot find a way to pay for Fall. I have to register for the Master's Report course again to keep going, or I cannot return to UT-Austin without having paid off my loans. It will take years.
I have listed $3500 as the fundraising goal here because it is enough money to pay my tuition as well as a little extra to hopefully be able to spend some time in Austin where I can meet face to face with my Master's Report advisor and 2nd reader.
My report is a digital essay on Prezi. It will be available for the public to peruse once I have finished it. The title is: "Why a 'Somewhat Asexual' Daryl Dixon is Not Enough: The Importance of Labels in Queer Media." I've currently spent several months piecing together both the academic discussion and the artistic presentation form, but, 50 slides in, the face-to-face meetings would be useful. Emailing back and forth has created its own unique challenges, and being on-site to work out the fine details would be ideal. The more money this earns, the better the odds are that I can spend quite a bit of time there, where I can work on my schoolwork and apply for jobs in the area--I would ultimately like to live there.
My dad and I are still figuring out how to manage my grandmother's care if I am in Austin, but we have both decided that I need to pursue graduation first and foremost now before this opportunity slips through my fingers, leaving me only with the loans to repay and no degree.
I have applied for FAFSA aid as well, but I did this fairly late as I assumed I would graduate in the summer, and, in order to use these funds, I will have to enroll in 2 additional classes (6 more hours) which will add their own coursework and challenges. It is not ideal, and I am not even sure if I will be awarded this money in the first place. Thus, I ask for your help--please, help me graduate with my MA in Media Studies this Fall!
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Rein
Being at UT-Austin proved challenging and expensive, but never felt like I wasn't right where I needed to be. I loved the city and the school, so it was worth the work--both school and my part-time job at Dollar General--to be there.
In December 2018, I was ready to graduate in the next Spring semester. I'd made all A's in the program so far and I couldn't wait to make my dad proud and walk across that stage. Unfortunately, I got sick and had to stay back home in Texarkana, TX for a long time after Christmas break had ended.
I anticipated being in Texarkana for a month or two, so I moved all my work online. My incredible professors were all more than willing to work with me. Unfortunately, my grandmother fell ill as well in January, and I've been her primary caregiver in the home ever since. She is on Hospice now with advanced dementia and heart failure. She is incontinent, so she needs lots of help. It's just been my dad and me, and he works two jobs. I, on the other hand, have been able to work very little in order to stay with her.
With all the changes happening in my home life, my coursework didn't get done by May, I asked for extensions and registered for the Master's Report course again for Summer. I initially planned to wait until Fall to register for this course, but it was hundreds of dollars cheaper to do the Summer session. My dad and I pooled our funds and paid the price: $1835.00. It was all the money we had left.
Simultaneously, our lives got crazy again as several people left his job, and he picked up lots of extra work. This left me at home with my grandmother and not up at the library of my undergrad school, Texas A&M University - Texarkana, where I have been working from since I came home. Still, with needing to stay home and watch my grandmother, I have not finished everything this summer, either--however, I am nearly there.
I only have my Master's Report and one paper for one of the two classes I got extended to complete in order to graduate in the Fall. I've had both scholarship funds and a lot of loans to cover the program so far, and I am really nervous that I'm going to spend the next 10-20 years repaying loans for a degree I never earned if I cannot find a way to pay for Fall. I have to register for the Master's Report course again to keep going, or I cannot return to UT-Austin without having paid off my loans. It will take years.
I have listed $3500 as the fundraising goal here because it is enough money to pay my tuition as well as a little extra to hopefully be able to spend some time in Austin where I can meet face to face with my Master's Report advisor and 2nd reader.
My report is a digital essay on Prezi. It will be available for the public to peruse once I have finished it. The title is: "Why a 'Somewhat Asexual' Daryl Dixon is Not Enough: The Importance of Labels in Queer Media." I've currently spent several months piecing together both the academic discussion and the artistic presentation form, but, 50 slides in, the face-to-face meetings would be useful. Emailing back and forth has created its own unique challenges, and being on-site to work out the fine details would be ideal. The more money this earns, the better the odds are that I can spend quite a bit of time there, where I can work on my schoolwork and apply for jobs in the area--I would ultimately like to live there.
My dad and I are still figuring out how to manage my grandmother's care if I am in Austin, but we have both decided that I need to pursue graduation first and foremost now before this opportunity slips through my fingers, leaving me only with the loans to repay and no degree.
I have applied for FAFSA aid as well, but I did this fairly late as I assumed I would graduate in the summer, and, in order to use these funds, I will have to enroll in 2 additional classes (6 more hours) which will add their own coursework and challenges. It is not ideal, and I am not even sure if I will be awarded this money in the first place. Thus, I ask for your help--please, help me graduate with my MA in Media Studies this Fall!
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Rein
Organizer
Rein Johnson
Organizer
Texarkana, TX