Help Fund Tyler's Graduate Studies in Vienna

Hello,

My name is Tyler and I have been accepted to Central European University (CEU) for a 2-Year Master of Arts in Comparative History. As part of my acceptance package, I have earned a scholarship that included a partial tuition waiver and a small monthly stipend. Unfortunately, it is not enough to cover the remaining costs of living and tuition, so I am asking for funds to help me continue my graduate studies and complete my Masters program.

My goal by studying at CEU is to gain a first-hand perspective and insight into the historical effects of authoritarianism on queer people in Central Europe and how that compares with recent politics in the United States. My life experience and academic goals have directed my studies toward exposing the struggles of queer communities in order to understand emergent strategies for support. By studying at CEU, I will also be able to engage and connect with the CEU Democracy Institute, which extends humanitarian efforts to students who are refugees from the Russian War in Ukraine through their Invisible University For Ukraine program.

Over the last five years, I have successfully acquired my BA in Comparative History of Ideas (CHID) from the University of Washington in 2022. I committed the first two years to the Sociology program, where I studied the intersections of gender and sexuality. My focuses were men and masculinities, disability studies, and queer studies. In the last three years of my undergraduate studies, I persisted through the global pandemic in CHID and graduated with my emphasis on communicating and compiling queer narratives of struggle and resistance in the United States.

While in my CHID program, I was able to study abroad in Prague, Czechia for the fall quarter of 2021. The program gave me a unique perspective into the lived experiences of sexual and gender minorities during Communism in Czechoslovakia during the

normalization period. I was also able to connect with international humanitarian groups that provide aid to refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as promoting the rights of Roma in Czechia. It was during these discussions that I began to develop my

research ideas and set a goal to complete my graduate studies in Central Europe.

At that point in my academic career, I asked one of my professors in Prague for advice to continue studying in Central Europe. His recommendation was to apply to CEU. Two years later, here we are, and I’m grateful for this opportunity to engage with this humanitarian effort. I have been accepted into the program and after other forms of funding was explored, I have now come to crowd-sourcing for support.

The funding will be applied as follows for studying in Vienna for 24 months:

$40,600 for total cost of living.

This includes the $1,200 a month cost of living as estimated by the Austrian

government for students whose age is 27+ (cheap rent, deposit, utilities, cheap meals, toiletries, etc.)

$6,000 for total tuition costs whose deadlines are August 31st (50% of tuition) and January 4th (50% of tuition) of each academic year.

$4,000 for credit card debt (this becomes an emergency resource should I need it)

$1,500 for Every Day expenses (haircuts/subscriptions/clothing)

$1,300 for medical insurance

$1,600 for travel and transit

$56,400 total funding needed