Graduate Asu's Diploma on Hold

Hi there, thank you for taking the time to read my post. I am Asu Gurung, a recent graduate student of St. John's College in Santa Fe with a BA in Liberal Arts. I was born in Nepal and raised in Hong Kong. My education has always been supported by gracious funding and scholarships. I attended the United World College in Germany with a full scholarship prior to attending St. John's. My four years at St. John's were equally supported by full funding from my donors and scholarships I have received from St. John's, for which I am extremely grateful.

However, this year I experienced a large financial hurdle; the IRS implemented taxes on the additional scholarships that I received. In addition to the scholarship tax, I have unpaid miscellaneous fees to the school. Despite having graduated only a week ago, the college will be unable to grant me my diploma or release my transcript.

I have been independent since I was eighteen, always having to seek my own way to support my education. Any additional fees that were not covered by my scholarships, I would work a job and pay for them myself. I intended to set up a payment plan with the college to clear my debt of $1950, but like most international students, we have not yet received our work authorization and are unable to work legally in the States.

I am currently working an unpaid apprenticeship at a successful tattoo studio in Albuquerque and living off of my savings from work during spring break.

I am concerned that if my debt is not paid soon, the school will be forced to hand it over to an external debt collector who will charge additional large late fees. I am anxious to receive my work authorization so that I can afford to clear my debt. As I face this uncertainty and concerns over my planned employment post-graduation, I humbly reach out to you, SJC alumni, UWC alumni, for your help so that I do not end up having to give up on my post-graduation journey, which may become short-lived.