HELP RUTH PAY OFF REED

THE PROBLEM: I owe Reed College $1040. I do not have it. I cannot register for classes or request my transcript to transfer to another institution until this bill is paid.

THE GREAT NEWS: I am recovering from a depressive episode (my first, brought on by a traumatic event*) and am feeling empowered to move forward with my life. I want to get my feet on the ground and hands in the dirt with community action related to food justice and liberation education.

*My family lost my 29 year old sibling to suicide one year ago. Nothing has been the same since, and I have struggled to maintain my sanity andlife. The trauma resurfaces nearly every day as I grieve, but I am committed to moving forward and pulling out of this depression.

WHAT HAPPENED: I dropped out of school a month ago, in the second semester of my senior year. I did this because I was informed that I would not graduate based on my failure to pass second year proficiency in a second language and one missing PE unit. I was in and out of every administrative office that would listen to me for weeks trying to rectify this, but my advisor explained that coming back for another semester was my best option. I was already deeply depressed, broke, and struggling to survive at the time. I said goodbye in anger and decided to accept the consequences.

Coming from a low-income family, it has never been easy keeping up with the elite private school environment. I was accepted to Reed as a full financial aid student with a grant larger than my parents’ income, but that grant money was gradually reduced and replaced with loans. Despite that, I have worked hard to keep my student loan debt relatively low (about $10,000) by working on-campus jobs and taking two different gap years to work.

I spent six years off and on at Reed in the Religion department learning how to read, write, speak, and critically think. I considered going to graduate school to pursue my interest in American religion (specifically its relationship to media, race, and space/place), but ultimately have decided that my priorities lie outside of academia.

I want to use the elite liberal arts education that I have received to empower disenfranchised communities.

WHAT I WANT TO HAPPEN: I am currently unemployed, living off of some money saved up during school (very little at this point), and am planning my next steps carefully. I want to find a paid position as an organizer/educator, but I will need to complete my bachelor's degree first for every position I have looked into.  If I can pay this bill I will be able to transfer to a public university, finish my degree, and move forward with my life. 

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING, SHARING, & DONATING!

with love,
Ruth Hale