HI

My name is Elijah. I am a second-year MS Environmental Policy and Planning student at Tufts University, Boston, MA. My interest in pursuing this program stems from navigating urban and environmental challenges while growing up in Accra, Ghana. While I progressed through school and life, I have been looking for opportunities to contribute to addressing these challenges in my country. One of my contributions so far is co-founding the nonprofit- Keep Ghana Beautiful . This nonprofit provides a platform for local volunteers to take proactive actions in addressing community problems such as solid waste management and climate change through activities such as clean-ups and waste audits, tree planting, freshwater and species conservation, and environmental education. My experience working with local communities, private and public stakeholders has led me to find lasting solutions in policy creation, amendments, and implementation. This has been my motivation to pursue an MS Degree to gain knowledge and experience and contribute to addressing environmental challenges in urban cities in the Global South.

I came to Tufts on a partial scholarship and student loan for my program. Unfortunately, I was denied additional funding to cover the full program. I have been working hard since Spring 2023 to secure a grant, scholarship, student loans, and co-signer to pay tuition for the rest of my program, but to no avail.

I am currently on a monthly payment plan for the Spring 2024 semester (my final semester to graduation), but I am not allowed to register for classes due to past due in the previous semester.

All calls that I made to the various departments for support or an extension to defray payment have failed, and I risk being withdrawn if I do not pay past due fees of $15000 by January 31.

I have six more class credits to complete in order to graduate in May 2024. All my efforts have failed in raising the funds to meet the deadline. Classes started two weeks ago, but I am unable to attend due to the inability to register for classes.

I am reaching out for your support and help to enable me to stay in school and be able to obtain my degree by May 2024. I would appreciate any support you can offer me. No amount is too small.

Thank you so much!