Help Gabriela Stay in College

Gabriela came to America from her native Colombia to pursue an education and build a better life. At the time, her father promised that he would cover her costs, but he did not foresee COVID-19, which has wiped away much of his business. He no longer can send her money, and she is scrambling to put together a plan. From a half a dozen intense seizures and finding out that she has epilepsy (along with the thousands of dollars in hospital bills that came with it) to this, she has overcome a lot in the last year.

Her legal status as a visa-holding student prevents her from working off-campus, something she very much wishes she could do, and she cannot, as a non-citizen, receive financial aid from the government or the university. That has not stopped her from clocking nearly a hundred and fifty hours of volunteer hours at the Humane Society, working with homeless pets, and at our zoo, where she learns from the veterinarian how to handle and care for the sick animals. That is her dream: to be the vet at a zoo, and she is studying Wildlife Biology at Missouri State University in preparation for vet school. She is hard-working and caring, and she can give so much to the country she chose and loves so much.

Her two campus jobs do not come close to paying her tuition for this semester, which is $6,959. Without your help, she doesn't know how she will be able to enroll next year in classes. Please help!