Help John graduate from UMBC

Hello,

I am a graduate student studying Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where I recently received a graduate assistantship to work in advancing the experience of underrepresented minorities in the student population .

I partner with the Helping Up Mission to assist people who have been rendered homeless in the city of Baltimore. I also served as a volunteer at a food pantry for the homeless on Fayette Street. Recently, I began volunteering with my local church for a food outreach and we have been able to donate over 300 boxes of groceries to families in need over the past 5 weeks.

The emergence of COVID-19 severely affected my spring semester, my academics, and my life. I wasn’t able to go to work for a significant portion of the spring semester; classes became more difficult to keep up with, and my health was affected. I could not pay my tuition balance for my spring semester, and it carried over into the fall semester

Fortunately, I received my Graduate assistantship at the beginning of the fall semester and it will pay for my education for the next two semesters. However, I was given a caveat: if I do not pay off this balance of $7600 by November 30, 2020, I will not be allowed to register for my final semester, Spring 2021, and I will also lose my current graduate assistantship (that pays for my tuition).

This funding is needed for me to be able to enroll in my final semester to complete my master's degree in Human-Centered Computing, keep my job as a graduate assistant working to advance the experience of underrepresented students, and reach my overall goals of becoming:

1. An Accessibility Specialist to aid differently-abled individuals in the Baltimore and state of Maryland,
2. An advocate for education for minorities with the State of Maryland,
3. A web developer and user experience designer with the State of Maryland.

Whatever you donate will go a long way to helping me achieve these dreams, and in turn help those who I will serve through my future positions. I appreciate your help.

Thank You.

Sincerely,

John Nweke.