Crystal's Nursing School Loan

My name is Crystal and I now work as a nurse for a Federally Qualified Health Center for low-income people. I owe alot of money back in student loans. I didn't spend it on cars, shopping, luxuries, or partying, so let me explain. When I was about 10 years old, my parents started a college fund for me. Every year I would save my birthday and Christmas money to put into my college fund. As a child of Mexcian immigrant parents, I had a traditional quinceañera (simple, as my parents were very modest protestant Christians). I saved everything I had and put it into that fund. When i graduated high school in 2002, I set out to go to college. I studied Psychology & Social Behavior as an undergraduate student and got my BA in 3 years, including 1 year of community college. I skipped freshman year due to all of the AP courses I took in high school and college classes I took as a Senior in high school and summer school. The year I graduated college, my parents got a divorce and the funds that I had put money into were lost in the shuffle of court and the savings that they were going to help me pay loans were gone, and my loans now became my full responsibility. My undergraduate loans were not very big, since I only spent only 8 quarters at UC Santa Cruz/Irvine for my BA. I graduated from UC Irvine in summer 2005 and that fall started my Master's in Public Health at Loma Linda University, a private Christian school. I completed 1.5 years where I worked as a graduate teaching assistant for medical Spanish and as a research assistant for a National Institute Health grant on health disparities in Latinos and African-Americans. I also worked full-time as an administrative assistant for UC Irvine's Fetal Medicine Department. And as part of my education, I enlisted in the Peace Corps. I was sent to Honduras in Central America as a health and HIV/AIDS educator and spent some time there serving a small community called Arizona, Atlantida. When I returned, it was mid-2008, the start of the bad economy and housing bust. I had to finish the end of my MPH but in the middle of my studies, I was in a serious car accident and came down with severe anxiety and depression. I left school for some time while I worked at UC Irvine Health Education Center. In 2009, I returned to Loma Linda University to complete my last few quarters and master's thesis. It was difficult to find a job, so I decided to work as an AmeriCorp member in a low-income community of Huntington Beach, CA working as an obesity prevention coordinator in the area of Oak View.  I met several wonderful nurses who inspired me to be like them and do community work. At the same time, I took courses to complete pre-nursing pre-requisites. That next year, I took full-time classes and was admitted into UCSF's top nursing program. I completed an accelerated 12-month RN program and passed my NCLEX in 75 questions on the first try. This was the first of a 3-year program. The first year was a self-pay program, meaning that no grants are given to programs that do not work towards a degree, and since I already had a college degree, the government doesn't allow students to get funds for programs that don't end in a degree. So I have an RN, without a BSN or BN or BS (nursing is complicated). To top it all off, I lived in San Francisco, the most expensive city in the country during the worst economic downturn of the century. That fall when I started my Master's of Science in Nursing program at UCSF, my husband was laid off his job from a small start-up that no longer had funds to pay him. I had to find a job to pay the rent and bills. I worked full-time as a public health nurse for San Mateo County for Child Protective Services, a job I enjoyed. After four months, he found a job, but I had already committed to working. A year later, I wanted to finish school and had to leave my job, since they couldn't accomodate my school schedule. I completed my MS in 2014 having now accumulated a large student loan debt, despite serving my country and making payments through this time. I'm starting this GoFundMe campaign because I love the work that I do as a nurse at a community clinic. While most nursing jobs pay well in San Francisco, I took a 30% pay reduction to serve in the community. I continue to make my $1,200/monthly student loan payments, but am committed to working in the community for the next 10 years in order to qualify for Public Health Service Loan Forgiveness. I don't have a new car (we have a 2008 Toyota Corolla that we bought used and I gave my 2005 Honda Accord, which was given to my second hand to my sister). I don't have cable, children, a house, or luxuries. My husband and I are a simple couple just trying to get out from under this student loan debt to start our family and future together. Any funds will go directly towards the student loan debt. I'll be paying it off for the next 10 years, so there is no urgency and every bit helps. It would be such a relief to get out of this debt. I'm committed to continuing to serve my community and to serve as a nurse when needed. I've also wanted to open up a scholarship fund for nursing students like myself who are committed to serving the community. I would be so grateful for any contribution and hope to make you a part of my journey. I'm asking my friends and family to contribute to my fund instead of receiving birthday or Christmas gifts (something I used to do when I was a young child). Thank you for reading my story and contributing to my fund. Please know that your contribution will really make a huge difference in my life.