Send Sam to Bucharest
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Hello! I'm Sam, and I'm a graduate student living in Lynchburg, Virginia. I'm getting my M.A. in English at Liberty University and hoping to teach English someday soon. Recently, I was excited to learn that a paper I wrote this semester got accepted to a conference in Bucharest, Romania. Presenting a paper at a conference is a great opportunity in the academic field, but since the conference is being held after I graduate, my school can't pay for my funding as I'll no longer be affiliated with them at that time. Therefore, I'm trying to raise the money on my own.
The conference is the Religion and Spirituality in Literature and the Arts conference, hosted by the University of Bucharest. My paper is on the short fiction of 19th-century American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne and how his stories portray a cultural conflict between religion and science. As mentioned, presenting a paper is a great opportunity, not only for career and resume boosting, but also for the travel and the life experience it would offer. Although I presented at a conference in Pittsburgh once during my undergrad, most of my schooling and my life has been spent in my little corner of America. This conference would be a great opportunity to see more of the world and to interact with other cultures and other professionals in my field.
In addition to its academic and personal value, this opportunity is also appealing to me as a Christian. No, it's not a missions trip, but the conference would be a chance to openly discuss topics of religion and Christianity in the relatively secular environment of academia outside of America. It could be a great chance for me to encounter others of differing backgrounds and beliefs and to engage in positive, thought-provoking discussions with them.
I'm asking for about $1850 for this trip. Thankfully, a philosophy professor formerly from my school now lives in Bucharest and has generously offered to let me stay with him and his family for free. That means I'll have lodging covered, but I'll still need about $1500 for airfare, $150 for getting a passport (I've never been out of the country before!) and maybe $200 or so for meals and other expenses while there (that's a high estimate, but I figure I'm better safe than sorry).
The conference is taking place from June 4th through 6th of this year. As it so happens, June 6th is also my 25th birthday. So if nothing else convinces you to give, then just consider that you'll be giving me a small birthday present by donating.
I greatly appreciate all donations, help, thoughts, prayers, and sharing of this campaign with others on social media. I have been praying that, if God wants me to go on this trip, He will provide the money (and that if He doesn't want me to go, that He'll keep the money away and keep me here). I'm excited to see what opportunities could come up for me in the near future!
The conference is the Religion and Spirituality in Literature and the Arts conference, hosted by the University of Bucharest. My paper is on the short fiction of 19th-century American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne and how his stories portray a cultural conflict between religion and science. As mentioned, presenting a paper is a great opportunity, not only for career and resume boosting, but also for the travel and the life experience it would offer. Although I presented at a conference in Pittsburgh once during my undergrad, most of my schooling and my life has been spent in my little corner of America. This conference would be a great opportunity to see more of the world and to interact with other cultures and other professionals in my field.
In addition to its academic and personal value, this opportunity is also appealing to me as a Christian. No, it's not a missions trip, but the conference would be a chance to openly discuss topics of religion and Christianity in the relatively secular environment of academia outside of America. It could be a great chance for me to encounter others of differing backgrounds and beliefs and to engage in positive, thought-provoking discussions with them.
I'm asking for about $1850 for this trip. Thankfully, a philosophy professor formerly from my school now lives in Bucharest and has generously offered to let me stay with him and his family for free. That means I'll have lodging covered, but I'll still need about $1500 for airfare, $150 for getting a passport (I've never been out of the country before!) and maybe $200 or so for meals and other expenses while there (that's a high estimate, but I figure I'm better safe than sorry).
The conference is taking place from June 4th through 6th of this year. As it so happens, June 6th is also my 25th birthday. So if nothing else convinces you to give, then just consider that you'll be giving me a small birthday present by donating.
I greatly appreciate all donations, help, thoughts, prayers, and sharing of this campaign with others on social media. I have been praying that, if God wants me to go on this trip, He will provide the money (and that if He doesn't want me to go, that He'll keep the money away and keep me here). I'm excited to see what opportunities could come up for me in the near future!
Organizer
Samuel Nathan Harris
Organizer
Lynchburg, VA
