Bria Goes to School

Hi everyone!

I’ll start by saying two things about this endeavor:

1. I’m a middle class, educated white girl, in good health and possessing the many privileges attached to these circumstances. This may not be exactly the kind of fundraising campaign that will immediately tug on your heartstrings and inspire you to loosen your purse strings. And yet here I am, humbly extending a fundraiser out to the good people of the world. Please bear with me.

2. I will fully acknowledge that attempting to fundraise on this platform for my grad school program feels quite vulnerable, even a bit ridiculous. After all, this is not exactly the Traditional Way of Doing Things. That usually involves taking out hefty loans (some of which I certainly will be doing) and generally becoming buried under a mountain of student debt with the hopes that my education will arm me with a pickaxe of knowledge with which I’ll tunnel my way back to fresh air one day.

Those things said, I was recently accepted into the Master of Journalism program at UC Berkeley and have chosen to attend the two-year program, beginning this fall. On the very low end, I estimate that this program will carry a price tag of at least $100,000.

We all know that higher education in the United States is an insanely expensive proposition, one that has left countless graduates floundering in decades of debt. But, I wonder, if there might be another way of doing things, one based in community support. The idea is two-fold. Partly, it’s the idea that if enough people are willing to offer a small sum, it’s no major impact for those donating while creating a huge positive impact for the recipient. If 100,000 people each offered a dollar, nobody much misses that dollar, but one person’s whole life is changed in a major way. The second part is that perhaps, some folks with the means to do so may be willing to offer larger sums, in essence offering an educational scholarship.

Given the price tag, why do I want to do this whole grad school thing?

Great question. As a journalist, I’m a storyteller. Stories form the building blocks of the way we think. The way we think informs the way we act. How we act creates the world around us. If we want to create a better future for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren, stories that promote awareness, unlock compassion and shift opinion offer a critical tool. In my future work, I want to raise up stories that make us take a look at the world around us, and think, “There might be a better way.”

And yet, I barely need to say that no storyteller takes up the mantle for the prospect of great riches. Upon graduating, there’s no guarantee of landing a job paying more than my current job, yet off I go to school, armed with my determination, an open mind and a sturdy lunchbox. At UC Berkeley, I am beyond excited to soak up two years of building new skills, learn from experienced professors and dive into a whole world of experience in the Bay Area that will help me gain the ability to skillfully tell the kind of meaningful, larger stories I want to elevate.

Going back to school after 11 years in the workforce feels daunting, intimidating and some days even a little crazy, like staring up at the imposing heights of a craggy peak from the warm, safe foothills where the sun is warm and a little voice whispers, you could stay here.

And yet, this feels like a journey I need to take. Will you help me get there?

A final note: I’d like this campaign to be one that keeps on giving. For every donation received, I will reciprocate with an act of kindness. Some will be large, some will be small. Within the year, I’ll send you a note describing the act of kindness extended to a stranger as a result of your generosity.

If you've gotten this far, thank you so much. Your support, financial or otherwise, means more than I can express. If you have any questions, please reach out!