Help an International Student Suceed!
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Dear you,
I probably don't know you, but I can only assume that you're one of the coolest people out there for even visiting this page and taking a few minutes of your time to read this. I want to preface this with that I don't like to talk about myself or even ask people for help. I'm usually the one helping people, and willingly so. Hence, why it is difficult for me to even come here and write my story. But I wouldn't be here if I had a way to fix this alone. This is one of the few times in my life that I've said "I need help. I can't do this alone." I hope that in some way you can relate to my story and find a way to support me whether it is through a like, share, or even a donation.
My name is Victor, I'm an international student from Venezuela. I've been in the United States since 2014, right after I graduated high school at 17. I currently reside in the DFW area in Texas.
Here's my story:
Since an early age, education has been a high priority and a dream of mine. I remember being that student, whether it was in elementary, middle, or high school, that wanted to push the limits of learning to see how far I could go. Even in my most lazy and rebellious teenager days, I knew the value of education and the "why" behind it. Unfortunately, I grew up in a country with a flawed educational system that didn’t push the students to excellency and offered many opportunities to cut corners. Educational resources were scarce, and safety was a daily concern due to the country’s socio-political state. These issues took away from my education and weakened my motivation; however, it was the same issues that sparked my ambition and desire for better education elsewhere. When I started High School, I began to figure out exactly what I wanted and how to obtain it. I dreamt about being one of the lucky few that got to go to the United States and attend an “American University in the North,” as people where I’m from would call it. This was a dream I thought to be unachievable.
Two months after High School graduation I said goodbye to my family, my friends, my country, and my culture. I got on a plane as a scared, yet eager, seventeen-year-old kid, but I stepped out of the plane into this country as a seventeen-year-old young adult starting his journey; nonetheless, still scared. It took me a couple of years researching and preparing myself before I started college, but when I found the University of North Texas, I was ready to set off on this new adventure.
Fast forward 4 years, and I've almost graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, English, and Emergency Administration and Planning. Additionally, I am set to start my dream Graduate degree in Higher Education this Fall on August 24th, 2020. After that, I'm planning on pursuing a Doctoral degree in Higher Education as well. My dream is to be able to work in an educational institution and give back to the community as much as it has given to me through the years. All the people I've encountered since I moved here have simply been providers of hope, joy, and motivation to keep pursuing my dream. My dream... it might not seem complicated to achieve, but for me it is. International students usually have a complicated set of challenges while in college in the United States, and I've had it extra difficult because of my country of origin. Most of the challenges I've faced have been financial of nature and through the years I've pushed through and risen every time I've fallen.
Since my second week in college to this day, I've been fortunate enough to be able to have various jobs on campus through the years that have allowed me to support part of my dream and help my family with the huge financial strain that college has been. In Venezuela, things have been difficult for everyone due to the insensitive regime that has been governing the country for longer than I've been alive. Now, because of COVID-19, people's quality of life has come to its lowest. My family isn't the exception. They have done the best they can to be able to afford my school in the United States and by doing so, impoverishing themselves. Today, my family is barely able to provide for themselves and let alone me living a life in the United States. As an International student, I'm only allowed to work up to 20 hours a week and only inside of my university. Most of these jobs, while amazing, can't support by themselves the life of an International student. I'm currently an Ambassador for my university, one of the best jobs you can have on campus. I help bring in more students to the university and I also get a first row seat when these same students see my university for the first time ever and fall in love with it; it's been the best job ever. So, the Department of Homeland Security limitations and regulations on International Students have been the biggest challenges for most of us. Due to COVID-19, these financial challenges have just been magnified. Since March 2020, I've only been able to work 40 hours a month for a total of 330$ every month. This doesn't even begin to cover housing, phone, tuition, and food expenses. As you may infer, life since COVID-19 has not been easy. I find myself constantly struggling to come up with a way of making money to be able to put food on the table at the same time as giving an angry landlord a very late check.
After many years of hustling, my hard work paid off and I was blessed to be granted with a full-ride scholarship for the first year of my Graduate school. The 3,700$ are to pay for the last of fees that I owe my university from my undergraduate degree. If I'm unable to pay that much money before mid August, I will not be allowed to continue my studies at the university. Additionally, I wouldn't officially graduate nor enjoy the benefits. Those funds would guarantee that I’m able to pay UNT and move on from this extremely challenging financial struggle. All I want is to start a brand new school year fresh and ready to continue pursuing my dream.
In hopes of finding solutions for my issue, I've applied to countless of scholarships, emergency funds, grants, and emailed everyone I could think of. Unfortunately, I've ran into many closed doors. My last resort is to ask you for help. You, who probably don't know who I am and who I hope is able to help me succeed in my life and educational goals.
Growing up, my mother always said a phrase taken from Henry Louis Mencken: “to every problem, there is a solution,” and that stuck with me. Whenever life throws me adversity, I take a second to take in the situation, lift up my sleeves, and then push through. No matter what the issue is, I will tirelessly try to find that solution to the problems that life presents me. I’ve always refused to let adversity get in my way to happiness and success simply because I heartily believe that our minds are bigger and stronger than anything that can be thrown our way. I believe that I can do anything I put my mind to. So, I'm putting my mind into that I will come out of this struggle one way or the other. And I hope that you are able to be at least a little part of my solution.
THANK YOU!
- Victor
I probably don't know you, but I can only assume that you're one of the coolest people out there for even visiting this page and taking a few minutes of your time to read this. I want to preface this with that I don't like to talk about myself or even ask people for help. I'm usually the one helping people, and willingly so. Hence, why it is difficult for me to even come here and write my story. But I wouldn't be here if I had a way to fix this alone. This is one of the few times in my life that I've said "I need help. I can't do this alone." I hope that in some way you can relate to my story and find a way to support me whether it is through a like, share, or even a donation.
My name is Victor, I'm an international student from Venezuela. I've been in the United States since 2014, right after I graduated high school at 17. I currently reside in the DFW area in Texas.
Here's my story:
Since an early age, education has been a high priority and a dream of mine. I remember being that student, whether it was in elementary, middle, or high school, that wanted to push the limits of learning to see how far I could go. Even in my most lazy and rebellious teenager days, I knew the value of education and the "why" behind it. Unfortunately, I grew up in a country with a flawed educational system that didn’t push the students to excellency and offered many opportunities to cut corners. Educational resources were scarce, and safety was a daily concern due to the country’s socio-political state. These issues took away from my education and weakened my motivation; however, it was the same issues that sparked my ambition and desire for better education elsewhere. When I started High School, I began to figure out exactly what I wanted and how to obtain it. I dreamt about being one of the lucky few that got to go to the United States and attend an “American University in the North,” as people where I’m from would call it. This was a dream I thought to be unachievable.
Two months after High School graduation I said goodbye to my family, my friends, my country, and my culture. I got on a plane as a scared, yet eager, seventeen-year-old kid, but I stepped out of the plane into this country as a seventeen-year-old young adult starting his journey; nonetheless, still scared. It took me a couple of years researching and preparing myself before I started college, but when I found the University of North Texas, I was ready to set off on this new adventure.
Fast forward 4 years, and I've almost graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, English, and Emergency Administration and Planning. Additionally, I am set to start my dream Graduate degree in Higher Education this Fall on August 24th, 2020. After that, I'm planning on pursuing a Doctoral degree in Higher Education as well. My dream is to be able to work in an educational institution and give back to the community as much as it has given to me through the years. All the people I've encountered since I moved here have simply been providers of hope, joy, and motivation to keep pursuing my dream. My dream... it might not seem complicated to achieve, but for me it is. International students usually have a complicated set of challenges while in college in the United States, and I've had it extra difficult because of my country of origin. Most of the challenges I've faced have been financial of nature and through the years I've pushed through and risen every time I've fallen.
Since my second week in college to this day, I've been fortunate enough to be able to have various jobs on campus through the years that have allowed me to support part of my dream and help my family with the huge financial strain that college has been. In Venezuela, things have been difficult for everyone due to the insensitive regime that has been governing the country for longer than I've been alive. Now, because of COVID-19, people's quality of life has come to its lowest. My family isn't the exception. They have done the best they can to be able to afford my school in the United States and by doing so, impoverishing themselves. Today, my family is barely able to provide for themselves and let alone me living a life in the United States. As an International student, I'm only allowed to work up to 20 hours a week and only inside of my university. Most of these jobs, while amazing, can't support by themselves the life of an International student. I'm currently an Ambassador for my university, one of the best jobs you can have on campus. I help bring in more students to the university and I also get a first row seat when these same students see my university for the first time ever and fall in love with it; it's been the best job ever. So, the Department of Homeland Security limitations and regulations on International Students have been the biggest challenges for most of us. Due to COVID-19, these financial challenges have just been magnified. Since March 2020, I've only been able to work 40 hours a month for a total of 330$ every month. This doesn't even begin to cover housing, phone, tuition, and food expenses. As you may infer, life since COVID-19 has not been easy. I find myself constantly struggling to come up with a way of making money to be able to put food on the table at the same time as giving an angry landlord a very late check.
After many years of hustling, my hard work paid off and I was blessed to be granted with a full-ride scholarship for the first year of my Graduate school. The 3,700$ are to pay for the last of fees that I owe my university from my undergraduate degree. If I'm unable to pay that much money before mid August, I will not be allowed to continue my studies at the university. Additionally, I wouldn't officially graduate nor enjoy the benefits. Those funds would guarantee that I’m able to pay UNT and move on from this extremely challenging financial struggle. All I want is to start a brand new school year fresh and ready to continue pursuing my dream.
In hopes of finding solutions for my issue, I've applied to countless of scholarships, emergency funds, grants, and emailed everyone I could think of. Unfortunately, I've ran into many closed doors. My last resort is to ask you for help. You, who probably don't know who I am and who I hope is able to help me succeed in my life and educational goals.
Growing up, my mother always said a phrase taken from Henry Louis Mencken: “to every problem, there is a solution,” and that stuck with me. Whenever life throws me adversity, I take a second to take in the situation, lift up my sleeves, and then push through. No matter what the issue is, I will tirelessly try to find that solution to the problems that life presents me. I’ve always refused to let adversity get in my way to happiness and success simply because I heartily believe that our minds are bigger and stronger than anything that can be thrown our way. I believe that I can do anything I put my mind to. So, I'm putting my mind into that I will come out of this struggle one way or the other. And I hope that you are able to be at least a little part of my solution.
THANK YOU!
- Victor
Organizer and beneficiary
Victor Tralci
Organizer
Denton, TX
Christopher David Vasquez
Beneficiary