Hi everyone, my name is Lizette. I’m raising funds to complete a graduate certificate at Harvard Extension School. The total cost is $13,760, and I’m turning to my community because this program is the next essential step toward the work I feel called to do.

My background is in both art and service—I have a BFA in Photography, and I’ve spent years volunteering and working with disaster relief organizations before becoming a high school art teacher. Through all of this, I’ve felt increasingly pulled toward understanding the psychological and global forces that shape human behavior, cooperation, and conflict.

That interest recently deepened after speaking with Alexander Wendt, a leading scholar in quantum social science. Our conversation helped me see how my curiosity about human behavior, global challenges, and emerging scientific approaches could come together in meaningful research. He encouraged me to begin formal study and work toward publishable research—something I can’t do without additional academic training.

This Harvard Extension certificate will give me the foundation I need to build a research profile and eventually apply to a graduate program, potentially at an international institution like Sciences Po. It’s a focused, sustainable step—much more so than the graduate programs I’ve turned down in the past due to cost.

The tuition, however, is more than I can cover on a teacher’s salary while meeting basic living expenses in New York. I’ve looked into taking on additional work, but the timeline would pull time and energy away from the preparation and study this program requires. I’ve always supported myself and worked hard, but this is a moment where I need help. That’s why I’m asking for support.

If you choose to donate, you’re helping me take a step toward research that I hope will contribute to a more humane and imaginative approach to global challenges. Any amount—truly any amount—helps more than I can express.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for supporting me in pursuing work that is both deeply personal and deeply needed.