<div>I’m asking for support from the community I’ve spent years standing with: in the streets, in the water, behind the camera, and in every space where we’ve fought for environmental justice, Indigenous sovereignty, and transformative education.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This Fall, I have been accepted to attend the Harvard Graduate School of Education to pursue my master’s degree in Education Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship. This is a once‑in‑a‑lifetime opportunity; not just for me, but for the communities I serve. I’m going to Harvard to come back with more tools, more access, and more power to open doors for others.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>WHY I'M ASKING FOR HELP</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Harvard awarded me a <strong>50% tuition</strong> scholarship, which I’m deeply grateful for. But that still leaves the remaining tuition, plus the cost of relocating to Cambridge, housing, food, transportation, and basic living expenses... all while continuing to support my family back home. I’ll be moving to Cambridge alone, and the financial load is heavy.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I’ve spent years doing community work that rarely paid... documenting direct actions, producing photojournalism and drone footage for grassroots movements, supporting organizers, educators, and advocates. I did that work because it mattered, because our stories deserved to be told with dignity, and because our communities deserve visibility and truth. I never expected anything in return. Now I’m asking for help because this next step isn’t just mine. It belongs to all of us.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>MY STORY</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>My path to this moment has not been easy. I grew up in instability, spending years in foster care because of drugs and violence in my home, and I was homeless as a teenager. After high school, I joined the Army searching for structure and purpose, but returned from deployments with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and other lasting injuries. For years I struggled to rebuild my life and find direction. It wasn’t until I began doing community work: showing up for environmental justice, Indigenous sovereignty, and education, documenting our movements with my camera and drone... that I found healing, purpose, and a sense of belonging. This community helped me become the person I am today, and it’s the reason I’m pursuing this degree.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>WHAT THIS DEGREE WILL ALLOW ME TO DO</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<ul>
<li><strong>Build and expand community‑rooted educational programs</strong> that center equity, environmental protection, and Indigenous rights.
</li>
<li><strong>Create pathways for youth, veterans, and underrepresented communities</strong> to access ocean science, environmental justice work, and transformative education.
</li>
<li><strong>Bring national‑level resources back home</strong>: funding, partnerships, and opportunities that our communities are often shut out of.
</li>
<li><strong>Strengthen the work we already do</strong> by gaining the institutional leverage needed to open doors that have historically been closed to us.
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I’m committed to returning with knowledge, networks, and tools that will directly benefit the people who raised me, supported me, and marched beside me.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>WHAT YOUR SUPPORT WILL COVER</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<ul>
<li>Remaining Harvard tuition
</li>
<li>Moving costs to Cambridge, MA
</li>
<li>Rent and basic living expenses
</li>
<li>Food and transportation
</li>
<li>Continued support for my family back home
</li>
<li>Stability while I focus on coursework and community‑centered projects
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>GoFundMe starts campaigns with smaller milestone goals to build momentum. My full need is $50,000, and I’ll raise the goal as we reach each milestone together.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>A PROMISE TO MY COMMUNITY</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I promise that this degree will not pull me away from the work... it will deepen it. <strong>I’m going to Harvard for</strong> <strong>US</strong>, not instead of us. I will continue to uplift our movements, amplify our stories, and build programs that make education, environmental justice, and sovereignty accessible to the people who need it most.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>If you’ve ever stood with me, organized with me, learned with me, or trusted me to document your work or story... I’m asking you to stand with me once more.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Thank you for believing in me, and thank you for helping me take this step so I can come back stronger for our community.
</div>

Shelby Branam

Nancy Huntingford

Luz Calvo

Dr Carla F D Faria

Tiara Moore

Donna Paul

Anonymous

Caleb Haag

Elijah Rines

Paul Earhart

Valerie Saidman

Olga Talamante

Marissa Osceola

Anita Revilla

Trupti Mahendrakar

JeanArellia Tolentino

Erena Shimoda

Homeless To Harvard: Support My Journey For Our Community

Support urgent earthquake relief and past recovery in Venezuela.

Apoya la ayuda urgente tras el terremoto y los esfuerzos de recuperación en Venezuela.

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

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Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

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fund country is US and user language is English

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GoFundMe Employees

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Mark Rieth IP Address

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Fund is in English speaking country

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Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

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checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

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Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

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leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

Support Comments Allowlist

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

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Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

checkout headers audience

ai_title_page

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openai

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GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

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testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

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challenge-fundraisers

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Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

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PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Homeless To Harvard: Support My Journey For Our Community

Still $2,915 to go. Help us build momentum.