Greetings, All. I am a first-generation college student in the Ph.D. Special Education program at Washington State University. I am reaching out because my journey to accomplish this life-long dream has been met with a number of challenges, contributing to current financial hardship.

For instance, when I started my doctoral studies, fall 2019, dental complications would lead to two failed oral surgeries in January 2020, leaving a perforation into my sinus cavity, resulting in severe headaches making it difficult to study. Simultaneously, when the pandemic hit, teachers’ workloads exploded adjusting to a virtual environment, which left little time for graduate work. At the time, I was working for Edmonds School District teaching at Scriber Lake High School, and later at Edmonds eLearning Academy. In 2022, another health complication left me with severe abdominal pain, and I ended up on unpaid medical leave. Not having the time to grieve for a few close Scriber students lost during the pandemic years, my health deteriorating as well as my grades, I resigned in 2022 to start taking care of health needs and focus on my work at WSU. Attending to health matters started with another oral surgery for another tooth (no perforations this time) with a broken ankle, and finally getting a much-needed hysterectomy in 2023, alleviating some of the abdominal pain. That same year I was able to start taking classes again at WSU, and with the support of an amazing committee, I am back on track working on my preliminary exam this semester.

I would also like to share a little information about my husband, Mr. Matthew Bowers, who periodically experiences long periods of atrial fibrillation (AFIB), and lives with the aftermath of two spinal fusions. Despite health conditions, he has been an avid volunteer mentoring and tutoring several of my male students when I worked at Scriber, and also uses his medical background to help with medical needs. Over the last few years, he watched over our dear friend, Mr. Stanley Gordon, who suffered from Alzheimer’s and Parkinsons (https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/27139877/stanley-charles-gordon/), reviewing all medical records and attending nearly every medical appointment, and more recently did the same for one of my former students, Mr. Rashaan Freeland, who suffered from cancer (https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-rashaan-fight-stage-iv-cancer). Both incredible men, who also happened to be two of my biggest cheerleaders as I have gone through school. The picture above (thank you to Rashaan's family for permission to post this picture), from left to right are Rashaan’s parents, Rashaan Sr. and Amber, Rashaan, me, and Mr. Bowers, taken when we were officially given the blessing to be Rashaan’s godparents. Why I share this bit of information is to know our commitment to our community, especially our youth.

Having taken care of my health issues and finishing all of my core classes at WSU, I am continuing to apply for work, ready for new beginnings. Very important, considering it will be difficult to pay for tuition this fall, as the new federal rules make it so I am no longer able to apply for financial aid. If anyone is able to help monetarily, it would be most appreciated. If there is someone out there who needs an employee with my particular skill set, please reach out (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrs-janet-l-bowers-82bb0430a/). If not able to help monetarily, prayers and good vibes are always welcomed.

With Gratitude-

The Bowers