Hello, my name is Raphael Alvado, and I am a French tennis player here in the USA. I came to the US almost 2 years ago to be part of the tennis team at the University of Oklahoma Wesleyan. This University allowed me to meet incredible people, build team spirit, improve my English, and have an overall incredible experience with the sport I always loved playing. Since I am here, paying for school has always been on my mind, because I am on a student loan to be here, meaning I have to pay for all my school expenses and everything around it, like airplane tickets. I am so thankful for the opportunity I got here, and I received a scholarship that helps me cover a big part of the school costs. However, it is still a stressful situation because, even with that, I will still struggle to have enough money to pay for the 2 more years I need to complete my degree. It has been challenging for me, as when I come back to France on vacation, I need to work to cover the amount of money I need to pay, and I am grateful that I got the opportunity to work in the summer and try to make money, not to spend it, but to pay for my school. However, even with this additional money, it will still be a challenge to pay everything.

If you read everything, thank you first of all! It means a lot; it's a dream of mine to be able to pursue playing tennis. I have been playing since I was 5 years old, and it has always been a dream to live from it, and to be here and represent everything I have done since I was a kid. I want to let the kid I once was keep dreaming that it's still possible and fulfill that dream.

So if you feel moved and you want to support me, it can really help me to fulfill that dream; it can be by a donation, no matter the amount, or simply sharing that with others, which would be amazing and really help me get my degree.

To everyone who took the time to read my text, Thank You!

It means a lot to me!

Thank you for believing in and giving me the strength to keep going.