Rebekah's College Tuition

I am your non-traditional student. After being honorably discharged from the military (12 years of service with 2 deployments) and a year after the birth of our son, I decided It was time to start back to school and finish my degree. I started back to school in spring of 2015 when I was 31 years old.  April of that same semester, my husband and I found out we would be expecting our second child. I continued to use the GI Bill and go to school throughout my pregnancy. During this pregnancy, I was inducted to the SALUTE Honor Society for Veterans. I didn't let the challenges keep me from school. I enrolled in the Summer and Fall semester for 2015.  In December, our daughter was born before the finals for my classes. I took one final 5 days after the birth and the others I received an extension to complete at a later time. I enrolled in the Spring of 2016 placing our children in the onsite daycare. I enrolled in summer classes and quickly learned that we would be expecting yet another child. I completed all the classes and enrolled for Fall of 2016. That October, my husband had to relocate for his career. We moved from New York to Nevada. Fortunately, the only class I needed for my degree was online. While traveling across multiple states and visiting with family, I maintain an A in my class. This was completed while 5-6 months pregnant and traveling with a 2 year old and a 10 month old. I completed my classes and my Accounting degree was completed. Even though I had the GI Bill, I still had to take out student loans to assist with school costs and child care. I took the Spring 2017 Semester off since our 3rd child was born in February.  I was hesitant to return to school due to the extremely high costs of child care for 3 children. I even tried to convince myself that college wasn't necessary and that I didn't need to go. It wasn't until after we found a church and started attending regularly that my husband and I both felt that I should return to school. We just didn't know how we were going to do that. One day a strong urge or a deep sense of knowing what to do came over us. I called him while he was at work and told him that I thought I should take the kids and move in with family in Oklahoma and he could stay in Nevada to work. To my surprise, he said he had been thinking the same thing.  Within 3 weeks we were packed up an on our way to my mother's house. We had called ahead and she welcomed us in. Three kids, a dog, a cat, and myself were to move in. I can't thank her enough.  I was going to continue in Accounting but there was a push towards another direction. My husband had been telling me for years I needed to go to school to be a chef. I always thought he was nuts for having this idea. However, when I looked into Platt College for Pastry Arts, their program started that very Semester that I was going to start school.  The hours were the same hours as the pre-k I had found for our oldest. I couldn't believe how everything was falling into place. We returned to church and I believe God was giving us his blessings. We are faced with a few challenges, like separating the family, but the end goal is bigger than us. We are working hard at paying off debts and becoming debt free. We want to be able to give back financially to those who have helped us and to the community so that we can help others, like we have been helped.  Unfortunately, Platt College in Moore is not yet a recipient for the GI Bill. I was informed that they are in the process, but that doesn't help us out at the moment. We are going to be responsible for the entire amount. We are completely ok with this, but it sets us back a good deal on our debt free journey and giving back to others. The amount listed is for the tuition to Platt College, Student Loans for my Associates Degree, and the moving costs to move from Nevada to Oklahoma in order to go to school (money for the move was borrowed from family and we would like to repay them). If you are able and feel compelled to help, we would truly appreciate it. Please know that the money received would go towards tuition for Platt College and Student Loans from previous education. The sooner we can get the school debts paid off, the sooner we can start helping others financially as well. When we make items that are easily shipped, I can mail you some of our creations to thank you for your donation. I will provide updates and pictures as we progress through our class material and when I find a part time job and externship in the field of Pastry Arts. God Bless You All!