Help Travis Return to Musical Theatre at Oakland

Hi, my name is Travis, and I’m a Musical Theatre major at Oakland University. I’m going into my Junior year, and I’m heartbroken to say that I might not be able to return to school unless I can find the funding to make it happen.

This program has become my entire world. Musical Theatre isn’t just something I’m studying; it’s something I truly love. The training I get at Oakland is really intense. Most days start at 8:30 a.m. with classes in acting, singing, dancing, and music theory, and then we usually go straight into rehearsals until 10 p.m. It’s exhausting, but it’s also the happiest and most fulfilled I’ve ever felt. I’ve grown so much in this program, both as a performer and a person, and I’ve worked really hard to get to where I am.

But everything is at risk now.

A couple of semesters ago, I had to take a medical leave from school to get treatment for an eating disorder. My anorexia had gotten really serious, and I needed help to get better. I’ve come such a long way in recovery, and I finally feel ready to return and continue chasing my dream. But when I left, I lost all of my financial aid, including my campus housing grant.

Since then, I’ve applied for every scholarship, grant, and loan I could find, but I’ve been denied from every one of them. I’ve been trying so hard to make it work on my own. I work full-time at Applebee’s, and I’m trained in pretty much every role there: Key-Hourly Manager, server, host, cook, carside, and expo. I’ve also started doing DoorDash, and I’m in the process of picking up a second job. I’m doing everything I can to save money, but the cost of going back to school without financial aid is over $30,000 a year. No matter how hard I work, I just can’t get there alone.

To make things worse, because I lost my housing grant, I don’t have anywhere to live if I go back to school. If I can’t afford to return, I could be facing homelessness during the school year. That’s something I never thought I’d be saying, but it’s the reality I’m facing right now.

You’d be helping someone who’s gone through a lot. I’ve struggled with my health, fought to stay in school, and worked myself into the ground just to try to hold onto the future I’ve always dreamed of. I still believe in that future, and I still want to fight for it. I want to finish my degree. I want to grow into the best artist I can be. And someday, I want to earn my Master’s in Acting so I can become a teacher and help students like me.

If you’re able to donate, even a little bit, it would truly mean the world to me. And if you can’t donate, just sharing this page would still be an amazing help. I believe that if enough people see this, maybe I can still get back to school and keep going.

Thank you so much for reading, for caring, and for supporting me.

With love,

Travis Palmer