Donate to A’Raya’ Williams' Education Fund

Hi, my name is A’Raya’ Williams and I’m raising funds to be able to pay for college this upcoming semester. Since 12 years old, I was set on going to The American Academy of Dramatic Arts-West in LA. It was my dream school for my passion in theatre, specifically acting. I did all the steps throughout middle and high school so I could go there. Come time for me to start applying for colleges, that school was the first and only school I applied to because I wanted an answer from them before I applied anywhere else. I did everything to go to this school including going to an info session in my city, going to open house in California (which was 6 hours away by plane), and doing an early application the summer before the start of my senior year. With all that dedication, I got into my dream school, but it wasn't time to rest yet. Now I would have to figure out the most important step to be able to attend: how I was to pay to go. I was as stressed as any high school senior, then high school graduate, would be trying to make sure they could afford their dream. All my life I was told that if I dream something, I could achieve it, but it was much more difficult figuring out how I was going to achieve my dream of going to that acting school in LA with a $30,000 tuition.

In the end, when it all came down to the month before I was to go to my dream school, I was eerily aware that I couldn't achieve that dream. I wasn't able to attend the school I'd been set on since 7th grade. It felt as if I lost part on my passion fpr my future because so much of it was set with me supposing to to go to that school. But even without being able to go to my dream school, I still had a plan to go after my overall dream. I had a second college backed up that had also accepted me and had my desired major. Between finding out I couldn't go to my LA school and now having to cram-plan to going to a whole other school halfway across the country from my dream, it all became too much in the end with fee deadlines, and planning on how I would even get there. I didn't let that stop me however, and I stayed in my home state for a semester so I could have more time to figure things out for my new dream.

Even with all of that, the same issue has arisen of how exactly was I to pay to go to school. Pushing back my start a semester had so many benefits, one being that my new offer letter halved the amount i was meant to pay each year, which meant that I could dream even farther than I imagined and that I could achieve even more for half the cost. But even with that benefit, there was still the out-of-pocket fees that I needed to figure out how to cover.

So, instead of being class of 2026 at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts- West in LA pursuing an associates in theatre, I'll be attending Columbus State University in Georgia pursuing a double major in fine arts, a triple minor and a certificate in cinema studies. And all I'm asking for is a little help getting me in the door. Thank you.