Andrea's Conference Presentation Fund

Hi everyone :)

Recently, I received the tremendous honor of having a paper written accepted at a conference - The Dickens Symposium - to be held in July, in Beziers, France.

This means, that I've been invited to speak and share my work and research with other scholars in my field. As a graduate student, this is an incredible honor and opportunity for my work and future career.

In order to be able to present at the conference, I have to be able to pay for travel and accommodations. I am a full-time PhD student, which means that I am employed by my university to study and work. I love what I do and I'm very lucky to do it, but this work is not lucrative. I work at the university and have an additional job as a tutor, but as it is, I am just able to pay my monthly bills. That means there certainly isn't money to plan a trip to France in the next few months.

I have priced out all of the travel and accommodation costs for attending this conference and am hoping that I can get some help so that I will be able to make the trip. My friends and family have been incredibly supportive of my work and studies so far and I'm incredibly grateful for that. It is only because I'm surrounded by such wonderful and supportive people that I might be able to make this trip.

I will be picking up as many extra tutoring shifts as I can to cover incidental costs for the trip, but I have priced out the budget for travel expenses:
"¢ Conference and event fees: $214
"¢ Lodging: $556
"¢ Flight: $1700
"¢ Food: $200
"¢ Shuttle (I can't flight directly to the city in which I'd be staying): $28

The remaining money is to cover the fees associated with using the website. The total I've listed is $3000, which covers all of the above expenses.

I am continually trying to find ways to decrease the cost of the flight, but the above rate seems to be sticking so far.

I need to be able to register for the conference (and pay the related fees) by April 30.

If I am able to raise enough money to book my hotel soon, I may be able to get a cheaper rate, which would reduce the overall funds needed.

This paper represents work I have done over a few years. It is a project dear to my heart, and the ability to have this work recognized by experts in my field is unbelievable (literally; I read the acceptance email about 6 times). In my field, these types of events are also a critical component to building my career "“ this is a time to make connections with other scholars that can help me develop my work over the next few years, and eventually, find a job.

On a side note, the opportunity to travel to France, for any reason, is a dream. I studied French for many years and have always dreamed of seeing the lavender fields of Provence (which, coincidentally, will be in bloom during the conference ;) ). This is a trip of a lifetime for me, personally, and professionally, and I would be grateful from the bottom of my heart for any help you can provide "“ whether that comes in the form of financial help, or thoughts and prayers. If I'm able to make the trip, I'd like to send postcards from France to everyone who helped me get there.

Thank you and if you have any questions about the trip, my paper, the costs, or anything else, please let me know!

xo
Andrea