Help Miss T Overcome Student Loan Debt

Hi, my name is Dawn (Miss T), and I’m reaching out with one of the hardest asks I’ve ever had to make.

I’m trying to raise $70,000 to pay off the private student loan debt that is suffocating my dreams and threatening to force me out of the classroom — the very place I was meant to be.

I am a first-generation college student and graduate, which means I entered college with big dreams but without the safety net, guidance, or support that many students take for granted. I didn’t know how to navigate financial aid. I didn’t understand interest rates or the weight of private loans. I just knew I had to make something of myself — and that meant signing papers and taking on mountains of debt that now follow me like a shadow.

The truth is, my first three years of college weren’t spent chasing my dreams — they were spent chasing someone else’s. I pursued medicine, not because it lit a fire in me, but because I felt pressured to “be successful,” to “make money,” to “make the family proud.” I took 20-credit hour semesters, overloaded myself to exhaustion, and convinced myself that pain was part of the path.

Then COVID hit. And I was thrown into critical care environments I wasn’t prepared for — emotionally or mentally. I burned out. I crashed. I realized that becoming a doctor may have looked like success on paper, but it was never where my heart belonged.

That moment changed everything.

I rerouted my life and followed the pull that had always been there — to become a teacher. And I did. I became a teacher who shows up fully, every single day.

In my short time in education, I’ve poured myself into this profession in ways that can’t be measured by test scores or paychecks. I created a “Take What You Need” Blessing Closet at my school to provide hygiene items, clothing, and essentials to students who walk through our doors without. I organize Weekend Bags of food so no child in my classroom has to worry about where their next meal will come from. I fill Summer Bags with books, snacks, and love so the learning — and the care — never stops.

I celebrate every single student with over-the-top, individualized birthday baskets because I want every child to feel seen, celebrated, and special at least once a year — especially at school. I created the viral “I Wish My Teacher Knew” mailbox, a space where students could share their deepest hurts and biggest hopes. That single idea sparked a global movement and reached over 12 million people, reminding the world how powerful a safe space and a caring adult can be.

And yet — despite all that — I’m standing at a crossroads.

Because of my private student loans, I’m watching my future slip further and further away. I work multiple side jobs. I’ve drained my savings. I can’t even qualify for a mortgage, let alone imagine owning a home or starting a family someday. I want to be a mom. I want to raise my own babies with the same love and energy I pour into the classroom — but right now, I can barely breathe under this debt.

I don’t want to leave teaching. But the truth is: if something doesn’t change, I may have to. I could walk away tomorrow and enter a higher-paying career — one that could chip away at this debt in half the time. But I don’t want to. I shouldn’t have to choose between doing what I love and surviving.

So I’m here, heart in hand, asking for help.

If you believe in public education…

If you believe teachers should be able to afford to live…

If you believe that debt should never be the reason a child loses a teacher who loves them deeply…

Please consider donating, sharing, or simply holding this story in your heart.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for caring. And thank you for helping me fight for the future I’ve worked so hard to build — both for myself and for every child I have the privilege of teaching.

With love and gratitude,

Miss T (Dawn)