Hey, everybody!

I am assuming that this message is mainly going to friends and family, so I will refrain from introducing myself in too much detail.

What is important to know is that I've been working my hiney off for four years now in university. My anticipated graduation date is sometime in May of 2026 (just a few months away!). I wanted to go out with a bang and experience some cool stuff before the show is over, so I applied to a study abroad program and got accepted!

I'll be traveling to Santiago, Chile starting at the beginning of 2026 and lasting until a week or two before graduation in May. That's about four months. This is possible through the University Study Abroad Consortium, which has generously offered to facilitate my travels and education for the low low price of about $10,000.

Now, that price tag is pretty scary. Don't worry, I don't need that much. I am grateful that I have some of my own funds saved up from the past few years of writing news stories and what not. I also am anticipating receiving some money through scholarships! I expect that, once all that is added up and taken out of the total amount, I only need a few thousand dollars to round out the program cost, fly me to and from Chile and for spending money when I am there.

So, if any of you lovely and generous people that I have had the pleasure of knowing in my short life are willing and able to help, you would be doing me a huge solid! I am prepared to shoulder the bulk of the financial burden, but I would really appreciate some folks chipping in!

Like I said, I don't really know how much I need. The "goal" listed on this fundraiser is sort of an estimate. Even if we could raise just a few hundred, that would change the game for me.

So, thanks, everybody! I understand that this is more of a want than a need, so I don't really expect anything from anybody. Just consider this something you can contribute to if you're feeling up to it! I'll make sure to send out personal

thank you's' to everybody who chips in :)

Thanks!

-Garrett Grochowski