Hey y'all,

I'm LP Kindred, a Chicagoan-Angeleno writer/editor/teaching artist/culture worker in the speculative fiction space, usually activating from the axes of my Queer and Black Identities. Woohoo!

I'm seeking support in continuing my BFA at the Art Institute of Chicago. Last year, at 42, I decided to return to school to finish my degree in writing. While I have some momentum in my career, I wanted to give myself an opportunity to center my writing in my life and disassemble ideas I've held about myself as a student.

My schooling story is fraught and I'll get into that later, but the operative issue here is this: There was no consideration made for a nontraditional student.

My financial aid package included PLUS Loans, which are only available to graduate students and parents of undergrads. Not only am I neither of those, my parents are deceased and I think this is an inappropriate financial aid plan for a returning, adult student.

Last year, an incoming freshman and I were discussing financial aid and he received $40,000 more than I did. My response? "That's so dope! Where have you published." His response was, "I haven't."

I'm devastated. My work has appeared in the LeVar Burton Reads podcast as well as Carnegie Hall's 2022 Afrofuturism Festival website. I'm 3x Ignyte Award nominated as a writer, editor, and culture worker. I'm a co-host of JUST KEEP WRITING, a podcast for writers which is barreling toward 200 episodes. I'm a cocoa-founder of VOODOONAUTS, a grassroots collective addressing the underrepresentation and isolation of Black Creatives in Speculative Fiction.

It turns out that the formula for figuring out merit scholarships considers grade point average, extracurricular activities, and standardized test scores among other things. Which, I think, shouldn't apply to me because the climate for pursuing higher education is very different from the one today.

Further, if my professional experience doesn't qualify as merit in context of the writing degree I'm pursuing, I don't know how to communicate my value to a pedagogical or bureaucratic institution. Because if this institution perceived my value, I wouldn't have to struggle this hard to stay in school.

Let me say this: School of the Art Institute of Chicago is an amazing environment for learning and while its Writing Department isn't centered, the writing instruction is top tier. I'm a cantankerous stickler with writing instruction and this is one of 4 schools that teach in a way that reads as radical. My writing, my process, my practice, my output have all transformed exponentially.

Unfortunately, I haven't had two consecutive semesters at SAIC. My momentum to finish school gets undercut by tuition not being paid. I'd like to graduate in June of 2027 but that means I need help to pay for my next semester of schooling.

I work part-time because I can't work full-time and study at the Art Institute - the curriculum is that rigorous, so I can only ramp up during summers and those few months aren't enough for me to cover tuition for both semesters.

I'm setting up some teaching opportunities next year. I'm going to sell at leas one book next year. I'm applying for all the scholarships, fellowships, and grants I can locate. I'm actively seeking a different kind of job for my downtime. I'm putting together a campaign to get a financial aid package that reflects my experience as a writer.

But right now I need help to get back into school next semester. My tuition is just under $7,000.

Any help you're capable of providing is deeply appreciated. Obviously, contributing means so much to me but so does signal boosting this campaign.