Help Jo-Ann finish university
Donation protected
Hello, my name is Jo-Ann. Appealing publicly for help is not something I normally do but at this time it is my only choice.
I started my journey towards my Bachelors Degree in 2017. I was supposed to have graduated in May 2021. At that time, my parents and I had acquired a loan in the amount of $150,000BBD ($100,000CAD) to cover my expenses. We had come to an agreement with a family member that I would stay with them while pursuing my degree. Just a few weeks before the end of my first year, this relationship disintegrated after the home became an unstable environment causing me to have to leave. I ended up finishing my first year in emergency housing provided by my school, then returning home for the summer. During this time, we made efforts to find new housing and we had to rent a tiny studio apartment so I could complete my studies in Canada.
This unexpected expense depleted our loan quite quickly. We have used up all of our savings, the loan and retirement funds to pay tuition and rent. We have been working feverishly to find other sources of income to finance the remainder of my education but to no avail. The original loan institution said to us that in their opinion, our income along with my parents’ ages (66 and 70) were factors that did not support the additional expenditure of a second loan. We have been in communication with other banking institutions but those have also proved unsuccessful.
The unstable home environment caused me to stumble a bit in the beginning but since then I have made up for that. I have maintained great grades as well as been regarded as one of the top students in my year. During the Winter 2020 semester, I maintained a 3.67 out of a 4 point GPA. That recommendation as a top student garnered me a working opportunity with my school as a Lab Monitor for 1st year students. This Lab Monitor position was only offered to a combined eight students in both the 3rd and 4th years. I was given one of the two available positions while I was just in my 3rd year of study.
My reputation as one of the top students in my year combined with the grades I have earned, convinced the academic coordinator for my program to override my outstanding fees and allow me to enroll in classes for the second semester of my third year. She did not want me to compromise my learning because of financial constraints, and to give us more time to work on getting funding without delaying my degree.
Given the Covid-19 pandemic, I returned home to Barbados so I wouldn't have to pay rent while doing online classes. Unfortunately I was not able to secure funds in time and the Registrar's office would not allow me to continue until I paid in full what I already owed.
Both of my parents have given their all to help me finish my degree. In particular, my father was working double time to find me funding. His greatest dream was to see me graduate university as I would be a First Generation Student. However, father was very sick. He suffered with diabetes and hypertension. In April 2019, he was slipped into a diabetic coma at home and was thereafter also diagnosed with end stage kidney disease and stage 4 colorectal cancer.
Throughout all of this, while he was suffering through surgeries, dialysis, radiation and then chemotherapy, he was still trying to find some avenue for me to get funding for my tuition. He fought long and hard but unfortunately on November 18th 2020, he suffered two strokes at home and died 12 days later at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados. On November 19th, even when he was in a state of confusion due to the strokes, he was telling all of the nurses and medical students that it was his greatest dream to see me graduate and that I was all he was living for. It pains me that he will never see the day.
I am asking for your help in trying to complete his last wish for me. Today I am asking for a total of $60,000CAD in assistance. This amount will cover outstanding tuition costs and the costs of my upcoming final year of study. Your donations would pay the just over $26,000CAD currently owed for my Fall 2019 and Winter 2020 semesters as well as the $24,000CAD I predict my last year of studies will cost. The remainder would assist me with my living expenses.
Any donation, no matter how big or small, would be greatly appreciated. I thank you for reading my story and for any donations you can provide. I also hope that me sharing my story, will encourage someone else like me who prefers to suffer in silence, to share theirs as well.
I started my journey towards my Bachelors Degree in 2017. I was supposed to have graduated in May 2021. At that time, my parents and I had acquired a loan in the amount of $150,000BBD ($100,000CAD) to cover my expenses. We had come to an agreement with a family member that I would stay with them while pursuing my degree. Just a few weeks before the end of my first year, this relationship disintegrated after the home became an unstable environment causing me to have to leave. I ended up finishing my first year in emergency housing provided by my school, then returning home for the summer. During this time, we made efforts to find new housing and we had to rent a tiny studio apartment so I could complete my studies in Canada.
This unexpected expense depleted our loan quite quickly. We have used up all of our savings, the loan and retirement funds to pay tuition and rent. We have been working feverishly to find other sources of income to finance the remainder of my education but to no avail. The original loan institution said to us that in their opinion, our income along with my parents’ ages (66 and 70) were factors that did not support the additional expenditure of a second loan. We have been in communication with other banking institutions but those have also proved unsuccessful.
The unstable home environment caused me to stumble a bit in the beginning but since then I have made up for that. I have maintained great grades as well as been regarded as one of the top students in my year. During the Winter 2020 semester, I maintained a 3.67 out of a 4 point GPA. That recommendation as a top student garnered me a working opportunity with my school as a Lab Monitor for 1st year students. This Lab Monitor position was only offered to a combined eight students in both the 3rd and 4th years. I was given one of the two available positions while I was just in my 3rd year of study.
My reputation as one of the top students in my year combined with the grades I have earned, convinced the academic coordinator for my program to override my outstanding fees and allow me to enroll in classes for the second semester of my third year. She did not want me to compromise my learning because of financial constraints, and to give us more time to work on getting funding without delaying my degree.
Given the Covid-19 pandemic, I returned home to Barbados so I wouldn't have to pay rent while doing online classes. Unfortunately I was not able to secure funds in time and the Registrar's office would not allow me to continue until I paid in full what I already owed.
Both of my parents have given their all to help me finish my degree. In particular, my father was working double time to find me funding. His greatest dream was to see me graduate university as I would be a First Generation Student. However, father was very sick. He suffered with diabetes and hypertension. In April 2019, he was slipped into a diabetic coma at home and was thereafter also diagnosed with end stage kidney disease and stage 4 colorectal cancer.
Throughout all of this, while he was suffering through surgeries, dialysis, radiation and then chemotherapy, he was still trying to find some avenue for me to get funding for my tuition. He fought long and hard but unfortunately on November 18th 2020, he suffered two strokes at home and died 12 days later at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados. On November 19th, even when he was in a state of confusion due to the strokes, he was telling all of the nurses and medical students that it was his greatest dream to see me graduate and that I was all he was living for. It pains me that he will never see the day.
I am asking for your help in trying to complete his last wish for me. Today I am asking for a total of $60,000CAD in assistance. This amount will cover outstanding tuition costs and the costs of my upcoming final year of study. Your donations would pay the just over $26,000CAD currently owed for my Fall 2019 and Winter 2020 semesters as well as the $24,000CAD I predict my last year of studies will cost. The remainder would assist me with my living expenses.
Any donation, no matter how big or small, would be greatly appreciated. I thank you for reading my story and for any donations you can provide. I also hope that me sharing my story, will encourage someone else like me who prefers to suffer in silence, to share theirs as well.
Organizer
Jo-Ann Harris
Organizer
Toronto, ON