Help first generation college grad obtain PhD
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Hello All,
My name is Lassana Diawara and I am a second-year PhD candidate at Stony Brook University. As a first-generation Malian-American, as well as a first-generation college student, I am the first in my family of seven children to attend and graduate from college, and soon, the first to obtain a PhD. I am looking to raise $4000 to support me over the summer while in graduate school.
I was born in Brooklyn, NY, and lived there until the age of five when my grandmother in Mali passed away, forcing my mother and father, who were undocumented, my sister and me to move back to Mali. After living in Mali for six years with my parents and seven siblings in poor living conditions, my parents thought it would be best to send me back to the United States to live with my aunts and uncles in order to have better opportunities and living conditions. Thanks to my parents’ selfless act and their endless words of encouragement, I have been able to come closer to realizing my dream of becoming the first recipient of a PhD in my family and my immediate community.
During my undergraduate studies, to ensure I was accomplishing this dream, I looked for mentors in my field that would be able to both guide me and let me work in their lab to further explore the field. I enrolled in programs like the Ronald E. McNair Scholars program, and summer research programs that helped prepare me for graduate school and the application process.
To make certain that I accomplish this promise to myself, I became a peer mentor for first year students in STEM majors at St. John’s University who were underrepresented in the sciences and from low income families like myself. This position became important to me because even though I was doing fine in my field and had a clear focus, I realized that there was no one around me that looked like me or went through some of the same struggles that I had gone through and had made it to where I want to go. I wanted to be that person for my mentees.
Last fall i started my first year in the PhD program at Stony Brook. The experience has been exactly what I had hoped for; from working on cutting edge projects, to learning the most intriguing details about phenomena that i experience on the daily basis, and meeting scholars like me from all around the world, this has been some of the best feel good moments i've had. While i really love the chemistry that i am studying and the path of my journey, i have been really struggling to keep everything balanced. Though i am the pride and joy of my family due to my accomplishments it also comes at a cost. Being that i am the only one in the US with the capability of working and helping with family expenses, i must do so. I have been managing to live off of a small graduate stipend which has been reduced, leaving me no way to pay all rent, car note, and groceries- let alone supporting my family. Since i am also not legally allowed to work another job i am in a really tight bind for money.
I struggle to pay my bills this summer, and need about $4000 to pay my rent, food, and support my family back home for three months. My graduate fellowship was only for the academic year, and this summer was reduced to $250 per month. During the summer months, I am working in the laboratory in my field of research in polymer chemistry. In the field of chemistry, students in PhD programs are expected to work on their research year-round, and the summer months are especially important because they give un-interrupted time in the research laboratory.
Please help me reach my dream of being the first in my family and community to earn a PhD.
My name is Lassana Diawara and I am a second-year PhD candidate at Stony Brook University. As a first-generation Malian-American, as well as a first-generation college student, I am the first in my family of seven children to attend and graduate from college, and soon, the first to obtain a PhD. I am looking to raise $4000 to support me over the summer while in graduate school.
I was born in Brooklyn, NY, and lived there until the age of five when my grandmother in Mali passed away, forcing my mother and father, who were undocumented, my sister and me to move back to Mali. After living in Mali for six years with my parents and seven siblings in poor living conditions, my parents thought it would be best to send me back to the United States to live with my aunts and uncles in order to have better opportunities and living conditions. Thanks to my parents’ selfless act and their endless words of encouragement, I have been able to come closer to realizing my dream of becoming the first recipient of a PhD in my family and my immediate community.
During my undergraduate studies, to ensure I was accomplishing this dream, I looked for mentors in my field that would be able to both guide me and let me work in their lab to further explore the field. I enrolled in programs like the Ronald E. McNair Scholars program, and summer research programs that helped prepare me for graduate school and the application process.
To make certain that I accomplish this promise to myself, I became a peer mentor for first year students in STEM majors at St. John’s University who were underrepresented in the sciences and from low income families like myself. This position became important to me because even though I was doing fine in my field and had a clear focus, I realized that there was no one around me that looked like me or went through some of the same struggles that I had gone through and had made it to where I want to go. I wanted to be that person for my mentees.
Last fall i started my first year in the PhD program at Stony Brook. The experience has been exactly what I had hoped for; from working on cutting edge projects, to learning the most intriguing details about phenomena that i experience on the daily basis, and meeting scholars like me from all around the world, this has been some of the best feel good moments i've had. While i really love the chemistry that i am studying and the path of my journey, i have been really struggling to keep everything balanced. Though i am the pride and joy of my family due to my accomplishments it also comes at a cost. Being that i am the only one in the US with the capability of working and helping with family expenses, i must do so. I have been managing to live off of a small graduate stipend which has been reduced, leaving me no way to pay all rent, car note, and groceries- let alone supporting my family. Since i am also not legally allowed to work another job i am in a really tight bind for money.
I struggle to pay my bills this summer, and need about $4000 to pay my rent, food, and support my family back home for three months. My graduate fellowship was only for the academic year, and this summer was reduced to $250 per month. During the summer months, I am working in the laboratory in my field of research in polymer chemistry. In the field of chemistry, students in PhD programs are expected to work on their research year-round, and the summer months are especially important because they give un-interrupted time in the research laboratory.
Please help me reach my dream of being the first in my family and community to earn a PhD.
Organizer
Lassana Diawara
Organizer
Terryville, NY