Hi, My name is Melody and I’m raising money to go back to school. I graduated college in 1997 with a BA degree in Psychology and had been working towards a Masters/ Doctorate degree combined program, but had to take a leave of absence for financial reasons. The school I went to was not accredited, but was working toward it. It was state approved at the time to sit for licensing in the state of California. Laws then changed and I went to try to salvage at least the Masters portion, but the school that had been contracted with was not going to accept any of my credits because I not an active student. Needless to say, that was very crushing, because I had put in a total of 5 years into graduate work, and none of it was going to count. It wasn’t an option to try to go anywhere else to redo any of that work, because the finances weren’t there.

As a result, I needed to find work that I was capable of doing and while I have always enjoyed learning new things, I have never felt fully satisfied or happy with any of the work I did. Like many, I have been working to live, but felt stuck, and unable find a way forward. Debt became an issue as well which blocked any pursuit of other education.

After 2 decades, I have decided to do whatever I could to push past the obstacles, and to pursue a career as a massage therapist. I had contemplated it off and on over the years and finally realized that this was something that I know I am good at, so why not go to school and get certified! Not only would I be able to make a living, but I would enjoy helping others through massage therapy.

I have always wanted to be in a position to help people, but it didn’t work out the way I had initially hoped. So, this is redemption time!

The school that I am looking to attend is Healing Hands school of Holistic Health in Laguna Hills. The full program cost is $15,000 for 14 months. I did apply for financial aid and have qualified for $9,500, which leaves $5,500 to cover which is about $400 a month.

Winter classes are scheduled to start next week on January 7th, however, it may be necessary to postpone starting until the Spring to make sure that I have the monies needed to pay. While I do work full time, I am unable to sustain the additional expenses of going back to school.

Any support will be greatly appreciated, either one time, or perhaps even a monthly contribution until the end of the program.

Thank you in advance!