My name is Jada Carter, and I recently began my final academic year as a Counseling Psychology doctoral student at Tennessee State University, the last academic step of my program before doctoral internship. I am reaching out for support after unexpectedly losing university funding that I relied on to help cover my tuition and living expenses while completing my doctoral training.

I entered this year expecting to focus on some of the most important milestones of my doctoral journey: continuing my coursework and clinical training, completing my dissertation, preparing for doctoral internship, and moving one step closer to becoming a psychologist.

Instead, I found myself facing an unexpected financial reality and trying to figure out how to continue pursuing everything I have worked toward without the funding I expected to have.

Still, I am here. I am still doing the work. And I am determined to keep moving forward.

Over the past several years, my doctoral journey has taken me into classrooms, research spaces, hospitals, community settings, and clinical environments. I have had the privilege of sitting with people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives, teaching and mentoring students, contributing to meaningful psychological research, and creating spaces centered on mental health and wellness. Those experiences have continually reminded me why I chose this path.

I aim to become the kind of psychologist who helps people feel seen, understood, and supported. I want my work to contribute to a deeper understanding of mental health and well being, particularly among people and communities whose experiences have too often been overlooked. And after years of education, training, sacrifice, and growth, I am closer to that goal than I have ever been.

I have worked incredibly hard to reach this point. I have continued showing up through long days of classes, clinical training, research, teaching, mentorship, dissertation work, and all of the responsibilities that come with building a life while pursuing a doctorate. But right now, hard work alone cannot replace the financial support I unexpectedly lost. I am actively pursuing additional employment and doing everything I reasonably can to create more income while remaining committed to my doctoral responsibilities. At the same time, doctoral training requires substantial hours each week dedicated to coursework, clinical training, research, and dissertation development. There are only so many additional working hours I can take on without compromising the very education I am fighting to complete.

The funds raised through this GoFundMe will directly help me cover tuition and educational expenses, including expenses associated with completing my dissertation research, as well as housing and basic living costs throughout the academic year. My first priority is meeting my tuition obligations so that I can remain enrolled and continue progressing toward completion of my degree. More than anything, this support would give me the financial breathing room to keep going and ensure that a loss of funding does not become the reason I am unable to continue pursuing a degree I have spent nearly a decade working toward.

I have spent much of my life being the person who works harder, figures something out, and finds another way—always. This season is teaching me that sometimes finding another way also means allowing people to help you carry something that has become too heavy to carry alone.

So I am asking my community to help me keep going.

No matter the amount, every contribution brings me closer to making it through this academic year and continuing toward the finish line. And If donating is not possible, sharing this fundraiser with your family, friends, colleagues, alumni networks, professional organizations, or communities would mean just as much.

My circumstances changed unexpectedly, but my purpose did not.

I still believe deeply in the work I am preparing to do, in the people and communities I hope to serve, in the impact I know I am capable of making, and in the life I have spent years working to build. I am still a doctoral student. I am still working toward becoming a psychologist. And I am still moving forward, one step at a time.

Thank you for believing in me, supporting me, sharing my story, and helping me continue. ❤️