Hello, my name is Valentina Soares I am 18 years old and enrolled in Santa Monica Community College. I am planning on studying Political Science and International Relations in the hopes to go to Law School and joining the United Nations. The plan is to attend Community College for 2 years, or as long as it takes to take away 31 credits, and then transfer to a higher prestige university. Some of the universities I'm considering are Pepperdine University and UCLA. I have donated to so many fundraisers and causes from the age of 12 when I asked for money instead of presents and donated all of it to the Thirst Project to create wells for children in Africa from even recently when I barely had anything to spare I donated to Feeding South Florida to help those in need during this pandemic. I never thought I would be the one asking for help, or that I would have the courage to be this vulnerable on social media, which just goes to show.

I was going to pay for this semester completely out of pocket with my savings but had to instead help my family with bills at home. Now, I have enough savings to partially pay for classes and have applied for emergency aid due to the pandemic but have not gotten an answer from my school. Currently, all I need is some help for this summer semester coming up in June so that I don't create a new stressor for my father and so that I can get ahead on my studies. Although I know there will be many more major costs in the future I am willing to work as hard as I can to get an academic scholarship and any other funding I can as well as continue to work my retail job to pay for college myself. Right now due to the pandemic it is harder, therefore, I am seeking help from anyone that can do so. Anything helps, even so much as a share. 


To give a little insight into why this help is needed here is my backstory. When I was 15 years old I moved to the US from Brazil with my parents because they wanted me to have a better education. Soon after we arrived my dad got diagnosed with a form of brain cancer. This disease is very rare and we were told that if we had not caught it when we did the outcome would've been severely different. This caused me to be removed from the school I originally went to and loved and transfer to a different school every 6 months are so, always looking for the best place to live in order for my dad to get better treatment. This obviously affected not only my social and emotional life but also my academic life very strongly. I had lost motivation and the grades began to take a toll together with the stressors. Due to not staying in each school very long I never felt comfortable with teachers or counselors to the point of asking for advice or really going to them for help, which is one of the most important aspects of high school. This just made me feel more alone and more stressed. My father was "cured" last year, which was a true miracle, so we finally moved to a county where I liked the school and thought it would be a good place to focus on getting my grades up. Academically, I have challenged myself throughout the years by taking mostly honors classes and participating in as many after school activities as possible. I went out of my comfort zone by dancing in pep rallies, started clubs such as the Model United Nations Club in one of my schools as well as joined the debate and any club that could further my education and passion for the study of the classes I enjoyed. I also challenged my leadership at work on a day to day basis at my job at Adidas. I have won Superstar of the Month as well as continuously received good feedback from my managers and coworkers on my drive and skills. In general, this whole situation changed me completely as a person and forced me to be not only more mature but more independent and made me with that realize the importance of being there for those who you love and most importantly those who love you. Since my father is a cancer patient in remission he cannot put himself in the position of danger during this time, meaning he cannot go out to work. I am the only other one with a job in our household but my job is currently closed and I have been trying to look for jobs but it has been nearly impossible to even get an interview at this time.



Thank you and God bless. Donate directly here or through paypal just contact me or venmo me @valesoares if easier.