Help Sharet finish her doctorate degree!

Hi, my name is Sharet Garcia and I’m fundraising to pay for my dissertation classes to finally get my doctorate. I’m in my dissertation phase which is the last class that I need to be a doctora. I’ve taken all the required courses and ready for my dissertation. I had put my education on hold due to financial challenges but it has been on hold for far too long. I have to remind myself that Being undocumented our journey looks different. Even as a DACA recipient I was unable to apply for financial aid and got excluded from many scholarships. Due to this, my colleagues (all US citizens) were paying a fraction of what I was paying-meanwhile I was paying the full amount w interest because of my immigration status. Despite this, I managed to pay for all my classes with out-of-pocket money and loans. However, I was no longer able to pay for classes and the financial stress had a burden on me. Due to this, I had to put a LONG pause on my education journey.

I received a letter from my school that my account will go to collections at the end of July 2022 and my account has now been blocked. This was my reminder that I will not allow the systems to continue holding me back. I’m fundraising to get my degree!

For the first time in my entire educational journey am I creating a go-fund to support my education. This has been incredibly difficult to do. Why is it so difficult to reach out for help? as a DACA recipient with a master's degree I was being hard on myself. I would say things like, “I should be in a “better” position financially.” As if DACA was the “solution” to my problem but the reality is that DACA has put many years of mental strain on over 600,000 DACA recipients and I was one more. I also put others before myself. This is because I think that others need more help than I do. Which is one ☝ of the reasons why undocumented folks don’t reach out for help or apply for opportunities such as scholarships. I’m learning to ask for help and even if I feel incredibly uncomfortable writing this and creating this to fund me I’m doing it. I’ve waited too long to get a degree and to work on my dissertation that inspired me to start the work Im doing with undocuprofessionals . I’m doing it for my family, for me, and my community. Thank you for being part of it!

I was told by a friend, “We need you on the other side to make even a greater impact. Today for you and tomorrow for others” I appreciate these kind words that encouraged me to do this go fund me.

Thank you in advance for all your support and help! Any donation amount will be appreciated. If you can’t donate I understand and will appreciate a share- that goes a long way too!

Please see the breakdown of what I owe:

Past Due: $6600

Dissertation class estimate: $1500

Total: $8100

Deadline before my account goes to Collection: is August 5th, 2022