Help Tavel Fulfill His Dream of Going to Kettering
Donation protected
Hey there! I’m Roxroy Brown and I’m here helping my nephew Tavel Nelson to make a GoFundMe campaign aimed at helping him fulfill his dreams of being a student of Kettering University. I’ll allow him to tell his story:
Introduction:
Hello, my name is Tavel Nelson. I am 19 years old and a student of Ardenne High School in St. Andrew, Jamaica.
In the summer of last year, I got the opportunity to participate in a programme that I had been anticipating for about 3 years prior to this. That programme was the AIM (Academically Interested Minds) programme at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan, U.S.A., and it was a really great experience. In fact, it was such a wonderful experience that I decided that I absolutely, at any cost, had to attend Kettering for college.
Of course, I had already decided on this in grade 9 when I first heard about the AIM programme, but this idea was now cemented in my mind without any chance of weathering away or breaking apart. There was a certain conviction that I had developed in relation to this school, and it was with good reason that I held such a strong belief in the school.
Their academic programmes (especially those in the STEM and Business fields) are brilliant, the people there are great, AND they have a [mandatory] paid co-op experiential learning programme that guarantees you at least 2 years experience in the field you're studying for. If that isn't reason enough to hop on board and become Kettering Built, I don't know what is.
My passion and admiration for the things involving this school are apparent as I try not to hide them, bringing me to the next section of this page.
The Reason I Need to Crowdfund:
While I am very much in love with the school and the experiences it has and will give me, I can't quite afford to get there. No, I don't mean tuition and such, I mean actually getting there. Travel expenses are, well, expensive.
Just going through the visa application process alone, I've found, involves using a LOT of money (at least from my perspective). My family, unfortunately, is not in a position to help me as I live in a single-parent home and my mom has been out of a job since long before the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in my country; so she has no stream of income in place to support us, much less to pay for my travel to the U.S.
I decided, upon realising that this would be problematic, to ask for help outside of the family and a couple of my friends (thank you Kemoy and Kim) suggested that I make a GoFundMe campaign. So, what exactly is the cost of travel for an incoming international freshman student?
A Breakdown of the Costs:
The cost of setting a visa appointment is $160 but, don't worry, that cost has been sorted (or, at least, it's been promised to be sorted if I secure the funds to pay the SEVIS fee) by the mother of a friend of mine (thank you so very much Ms. Weise and Chaunte).
Another visa-related cost is the SEVIS fee which is $350 and can be paid no later than a week before the date of the appointment.
From my research on airfare prices, it seems as if the price of a plane ticket from Kingston, Jamaica to Flint, Michigan averages to $950. This is liable to fluctuate based on many different variables, but this average will be OK for now.
So far, that's $1,300 but, I don't know if you've noticed, I set the limit of this campaign to $1,500. That extra $200 was put there in the case of any unforeseen circumstances that may arise, like the increase of a ticket price or payment for luggage deemed to be overweight. But when will I need all this?
The Timeline:
With all this being said, there is a time limit for all this to be dealt with. As you may have guessed, because of the COVID-19 outbreak, a quarantine period of 14 days needs to be adhered to upon arriving on campus. This means that, instead of trying to be there by the latest September 28th for orientation, I have to try to be there by September 14th for self-isolation.
Now, this is coupled with the fact that I have not set a date for the visa interview as yet (because I have to be assured of the possibility of getting the $350 for the SEVIS fee before Ms. Weise pays the $160 for me to set a date), which means that your donation is needed urgently.
The time taken to process a visa application is between 3 and 5 weeks, and I'm not sure of the next available interview date, so the latest time period to have this sorted (at least up to the $350) would be between the end of this week and the start of next week.
Conclusion:
I know this is very short notice (actually should have put this out there at least a week ago, but certain requirements delayed the creation of this account), but please bear with me; I really need your help!
The situation has been explained and, honestly, I've poured my all into this. Now all that's left is for you to donate as much as you can. Every penny counts so, please, don't be afraid to donate, even if it is just a small amount.
You can donate by clicking on the "Donate now" button under the title of the campaign or the "Donate" button that follows at the top of your screen as you scroll down the page. Also, please feel free to share with anyone you think might be able to donate to the cause. You can do so by clicking on the "Share" button that's right above the "Donate now" button under the title or right beside the "Donate" button that follows as you go down the page. I would really appreciate it.
To show that appreciation, I'd really like it if you were to send over your contact information so I can keep in touch with you and give you updates on the happenings of the entire procedure. You should, also, feel free to post a comment with words of encouragement along with your donation, if you are so inclined.
I'm not quite sure how exactly to end this because it's my first time doing it, but I just want to extend my deepest gratitude to you for donating (or for even just taking the time to look and share). I really appreciate it because the reason I'm doing this means a lot to me.
I'll keep you guys updated on my progress. Thanks again. Have a good one!
Introduction:
Hello, my name is Tavel Nelson. I am 19 years old and a student of Ardenne High School in St. Andrew, Jamaica.
In the summer of last year, I got the opportunity to participate in a programme that I had been anticipating for about 3 years prior to this. That programme was the AIM (Academically Interested Minds) programme at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan, U.S.A., and it was a really great experience. In fact, it was such a wonderful experience that I decided that I absolutely, at any cost, had to attend Kettering for college.
Of course, I had already decided on this in grade 9 when I first heard about the AIM programme, but this idea was now cemented in my mind without any chance of weathering away or breaking apart. There was a certain conviction that I had developed in relation to this school, and it was with good reason that I held such a strong belief in the school.
Their academic programmes (especially those in the STEM and Business fields) are brilliant, the people there are great, AND they have a [mandatory] paid co-op experiential learning programme that guarantees you at least 2 years experience in the field you're studying for. If that isn't reason enough to hop on board and become Kettering Built, I don't know what is.
My passion and admiration for the things involving this school are apparent as I try not to hide them, bringing me to the next section of this page.
The Reason I Need to Crowdfund:
While I am very much in love with the school and the experiences it has and will give me, I can't quite afford to get there. No, I don't mean tuition and such, I mean actually getting there. Travel expenses are, well, expensive.
Just going through the visa application process alone, I've found, involves using a LOT of money (at least from my perspective). My family, unfortunately, is not in a position to help me as I live in a single-parent home and my mom has been out of a job since long before the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in my country; so she has no stream of income in place to support us, much less to pay for my travel to the U.S.
I decided, upon realising that this would be problematic, to ask for help outside of the family and a couple of my friends (thank you Kemoy and Kim) suggested that I make a GoFundMe campaign. So, what exactly is the cost of travel for an incoming international freshman student?
A Breakdown of the Costs:
The cost of setting a visa appointment is $160 but, don't worry, that cost has been sorted (or, at least, it's been promised to be sorted if I secure the funds to pay the SEVIS fee) by the mother of a friend of mine (thank you so very much Ms. Weise and Chaunte).
Another visa-related cost is the SEVIS fee which is $350 and can be paid no later than a week before the date of the appointment.
From my research on airfare prices, it seems as if the price of a plane ticket from Kingston, Jamaica to Flint, Michigan averages to $950. This is liable to fluctuate based on many different variables, but this average will be OK for now.
So far, that's $1,300 but, I don't know if you've noticed, I set the limit of this campaign to $1,500. That extra $200 was put there in the case of any unforeseen circumstances that may arise, like the increase of a ticket price or payment for luggage deemed to be overweight. But when will I need all this?
The Timeline:
With all this being said, there is a time limit for all this to be dealt with. As you may have guessed, because of the COVID-19 outbreak, a quarantine period of 14 days needs to be adhered to upon arriving on campus. This means that, instead of trying to be there by the latest September 28th for orientation, I have to try to be there by September 14th for self-isolation.
Now, this is coupled with the fact that I have not set a date for the visa interview as yet (because I have to be assured of the possibility of getting the $350 for the SEVIS fee before Ms. Weise pays the $160 for me to set a date), which means that your donation is needed urgently.
The time taken to process a visa application is between 3 and 5 weeks, and I'm not sure of the next available interview date, so the latest time period to have this sorted (at least up to the $350) would be between the end of this week and the start of next week.
Conclusion:
I know this is very short notice (actually should have put this out there at least a week ago, but certain requirements delayed the creation of this account), but please bear with me; I really need your help!
The situation has been explained and, honestly, I've poured my all into this. Now all that's left is for you to donate as much as you can. Every penny counts so, please, don't be afraid to donate, even if it is just a small amount.
You can donate by clicking on the "Donate now" button under the title of the campaign or the "Donate" button that follows at the top of your screen as you scroll down the page. Also, please feel free to share with anyone you think might be able to donate to the cause. You can do so by clicking on the "Share" button that's right above the "Donate now" button under the title or right beside the "Donate" button that follows as you go down the page. I would really appreciate it.
To show that appreciation, I'd really like it if you were to send over your contact information so I can keep in touch with you and give you updates on the happenings of the entire procedure. You should, also, feel free to post a comment with words of encouragement along with your donation, if you are so inclined.
I'm not quite sure how exactly to end this because it's my first time doing it, but I just want to extend my deepest gratitude to you for donating (or for even just taking the time to look and share). I really appreciate it because the reason I'm doing this means a lot to me.
I'll keep you guys updated on my progress. Thanks again. Have a good one!
Organizer
Roxroy Brown
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY