Ten years ago, when our family moved from California to Washington, Cassie (who uses they/them pronouns) swore that, as soon as possible, they'd return to Los Angeles. For many years, I assured Cassie that it could be done and then, BAM!, it happened!

 

UCLA admitted Cassie -- out of thousands of applicants -- into their renowned School of Television, Film and Theater (TFT).

 

At TFT, Cassie intends to not only develop their skills as a lighting designer but to also study with UCLA's Visual and Performing Arts Education Program. You see, Cassie doesn't just want to be a designer, they also want to be a teacher who inspires high school students to love the theater as much as their mentor, Mark Tomasson from Tacoma's School of the Arts, inspired Cassie.

 

But here's the big HOWEVER ---

 

Because we left California ten years ago, Cassie is not eligible for in-state tuition and  a lot of UCLA's assistance is unavailable for out-of-state students. As everyone knows, sending a kid to college is already something of a stretch for most families, but this extra factor makes UCLA's bill especially painful.

 

Between chronic health issues, an autism diagnosis, years of home schooling, switching high schools, and then a pandemic -- Cassie's already been through a lot to get to this point and is not willing to stop now -- despite the ginormous price tag.

 

So, together, we are doing everything we can to make Cassie's dream of being an artist/teacher a reality and, even though it's uncomfortable, we are reaching out to our extended network of family, friends and new & old acquaintances with our request that you consider sponsoring Cassie's education.

 

Of course, I'd like to say we were able to do it on our own, but I also know that it has taken our village to raise my children to this point and our job is not yet done.