My name is Marvellous Oluwadare. I’m a physician from Nigeria, and I’m just months away from completing my Master of Public Health at NYU School of Global Public Health. I’m expected to graduate in May 2027.

I came to NYU with a goal that means a great deal to me: to help make cancer care more accessible in Nigeria and across West Africa. Too many people back home face a cancer diagnosis without a realistic chance of getting the treatment they need. As a physician, I have seen how much this matters. I want to be part of changing that, and my training at NYU is an important step toward doing so.

But today, I’m facing the possibility of not being able to finish the degree I came here to earn.

I had planned to pay my tuition this semester with money from a summer internship. When I couldn’t secure a paid internship, I spent the summer doing clinical and research work while preparing for my USMLE exams. I kept working toward the future I had envisioned, expecting to find a way to cover my tuition.

I tried to make that happen. I applied for student loans through Prodigy Finance and MPOWER Financing, two of the main lenders international students rely on. Unfortunately, I couldn’t secure funding through either one. Also, this month MPOWER Financing shut down due to unfavorable immigration policies for international students.

Now, with my final year underway, I have run out of options to cover my tuition on my own.

I’m raising $50,000 to pay my tuition through graduation in May 2027, including GoFundMe fees. The most urgent need is approximately $25,000 for this semester, which is due by December 14. The remaining funds will cover my final semester. These figures come from my official NYU tuition and fees, which are about $2,300 per credit.

If I cannot pay, I risk losing my student status and the opportunity to complete my degree. I am so close to finishing, yet something as fundamental as being able to pay tuition could bring everything to a halt.

The uncertainty surrounding student visas for Nigerians makes this even more difficult. Losing my current status could mean losing the ability to return to the US and finish what I started. After all the work it took to get here, the thought of having to leave without completing my degree is hard to put into words.

I’m sharing my story because I need help getting through this final stretch. I know that $50,000 is a significant amount to raise, but I also know that I cannot meet this need alone. I’m asking friends, family, colleagues, and anyone who believes in the importance of better cancer care to help me get to graduation.

A donation of any size will make a difference. If you can give, thank you. If you can’t, sharing this fundraiser with your network could help it reach someone who can.

My hope is to finish this degree, return to the work I care so deeply about, and use what I’ve learned to help improve cancer care for people who need it most.

I have come too far to give up on that goal now. With your help, I hope I won’t have to.

Thank you for reading, for sharing, and for giving me a chance to finish what I started.