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Hi, I’m Aaron Saint-James.
"I’ve broken cycles, rebuilt my life from trauma, and now I just need a bridge to the finish line"
I’m a neurodivergent person, mature-aged student, casual staff member at UNSW, and co-founder of Diversified, an initiative reshaping education through neuro-inclusive and accessible design, grounded in lived experience.
I come from a lower-socioeconomic background, where financial, food and housing stability were rare, and opportunities were even rarer.
I’m the first in my family to attend university, and every step of the way has meant navigating systems I was never taught how to access.
I grew up around domestic violence, poverty, and trauma, in environments where drugs and alcohol were normalised, not questioned.
These experiences shaped me, but they never defined me. And despite everything I’ve carried, I’ve fought hard to break generational cycles, not just for myself, but for others who never saw themselves reflected in the system.
I’ve had to unlearn survival as a default setting.
To teach myself that I deserve more than just “getting through.”
And now, I’m pouring everything I’ve learned into building something that creates lasting change, not charity, but transformation.
Not just for me, but for the next neurodivergent, working-class, queer, or disabled student who deserves to thrive, not fight to be included.
For years, I worked as an executive chef. I masked, I pushed through chronic illness and burnout, and I survived in systems never built with my body or brain in mind.
It wasn’t until I was diagnosed, ADHD, dyslexia, and chronic health conditions, that I finally understood why everything had felt so hard.
So I made a bold choice: I left my career to start again. To build something better.
Now, I’m five years into my university journey.
Until this year, I could only study part-time while juggling work and health.
But 2025 is different, I’ve gone all in with full-time study for the first time, so I can finally finish my degree.
I’m so close to the finish line.
But I’ve had to resign from the only stable role that kept me financially afloat, because my health and stress levels made it impossible to keep up.
And now, I’m asking for help.
Not just to get by, but to heal, to study, and to finish strong.
To do what no one in my family has done.
To keep breaking the cycle.
Your support means the world.
It gives me the chance to keep building the future I never had access to, and make sure others don’t have to fight as hard as I did.
After soon to be five years of balancing full-time study, casual employment, unpaid advocacy, and chronic health conditions, my body has finally said “ENOUGH.”
The Reality:
Over the past 5 years, I've held 15 casual employment records at UNSW, and currently, I hold four casual roles:
• One that is term-based and ends this week.
• One that is a short 8-week contract.
• One that is unpaid labour, I continue out of passion (Diversified).
• And the only sustainably funded role, the one helping me stay afloat, I’ve had to resign from due to declining health.
That decision didn’t come easily. It was heartbreaking.
But continuing would have meant sacrificing my health completely and risking the completion of my final year of study.
Why I’m Asking for Support:
For the first time in my adult life, I want to dedicate this year to healing, studying, and completing my final year with intention and care.
Not in survival mode. Not while burning out behind the scenes.
Just me, showing up fully to finish what I started.
This GoFundMe will help me:
• Cover rent and basic living costs
• Pay for medical and allied health appointments
• Afford academic resources and technology
• Focus fully on finishing my final year and preparing for a PhD next year.
• Continue unpaid advocacy, research, and consulting work that drives inclusive, systemic change
Why This Matters:
I’ve spent years building solutions for others, redesigning university systems to work for neurodivergent students, not against them.
But right now, I can’t fix broken systems while I’m breaking under them.
This support isn’t a handout, it’s a hand through a moment I can’t navigate alone.
If you’ve ever seen yourself in my work, my story, or my mission, I’d be so grateful for anything you can offer: a donation, a share, or a kind word.
Your support will carry me through the hardest year of my life, and help me come out the other side still standing, still building, still dreaming.
Your support means more than I can say.
It’s helping me heal, grow, and keep breaking cycles, one step at a time.
With heartfelt thanks,
Aaron Saint-James