$3k and I go to Harvard to finish my degree

I’m Rob Schoenbaum and I need $3000 to go to Harvard and finish my degree.

 

I’m a freelance news photographer, born in New York, living in Sweden. Since my wife died from breast cancer I’ve been a single dad of a wonderful daughter, Hanna, who’s grown up into a young woman far better than anything I can take credit for. She’s managed to overcome this devastating loss as well as my often unstable freelance income to become a wiser and more compassionate person for it. In June she graduated Magna Cum Laude from Mount Holyoke College and moved to California with her wonderful girlfriend to start her life. I am one proud dad!

 

During Hanna’s college years she and I regularly discussed the books she was reading. I read her papers and we talked about them. It was great to have this kind of dialogue with my daughter. The small reflected exposure to books and ideas of Hanna’s college work lit a fire in me. She was reading books I hadn’t gone near in decades. I read a number of them myself so I might hold up my side of the conversation. This exposure to college level study, indirect as it was, was a huge eye opener for me.

 

When the pandemic hit about a year and half ago virtually all of my freelance work vanished. Suddenly nothing! I’m not the only one who had to scramble to stay alive and keep a roof over my head. With nothing better to do I registered for some online literature classes at HarvardX; Shakespeare, ancient, and modern literature. I felt privileged to take part in them. Besides the exposure to books that I probably should have read long ago it laid to rest doubts I had about whether I could handle college work. And in a twist, my daughter was now helping me with my homework! That made it even better!

 

In January I’m going to enroll at the Harvard Extension School and study part-time, and finally get my undergraduate degree. The admissions process largely involves taking three required classes and getting grades of B or better in all of them. The combined tuition is $3000. Because these are pre-admission they are not eligible for financial aid. Once I pass these classes and gain admission I’ll be a degree candidate at the Harvard Extension School and can then apply for financial aid.

 

Now that the economy is coming back to life I’m getting a trickle of freelance work, which I’m using to pay for my daughter’s college loans. I am saving as much as I can for my college tuition, but with rent and my daughter loan payments it’s not certain I can have what I need in time..

 

I need to pay $3000 to Harvard by the end of the year. I’m doing all the freelance work I can get, saving all I can. But I’m gonna need your help too. Whatever you can send in will be put to good use. That I guarantee.

 

Thank you all very much!

 

Rob Schoenbaum