Love and Support for Zaiver Sinnett

On Sunday, January 15th, one of my very best and dearest friends, Zaiver Sinnett, received word that his mother, Teressa Sinnett, had been admitted to the hospital after having chest pains. Later that night, the doctors told her she had experienced a heart attack. The next morning, after inserting a catheter to clear some of the blockage, the doctors discovered there were more severe blockages and Teressa would need to have a multiple bypass surgery.

Last week, Zaiver started his second semester at USC's MFA Writing for Screen & Television Program in Los Angeles, the most prestigious and renowned graduate screenwriting program in the world. Classes in the MFA Writing program are intense and intensive and require the full emotional, mental, and physical investment of students. The second semester is the most taxing, as MFA students are required to write and revise an original feature film screenplay and an original TV pilot teleplay -- on top of other class requirements and out-of-classroom commitments.

Getting through the semester is challenging for anyone, but it is especially difficult knowing you have a sick parent at home who will be having serious surgery and then enduring months-long recovery.

Thus, Zaiver has chosen to fly home to West Virginia from Los Angeles last-minute to be with his mother during her surgery.

To do so, Zaiver had to charge the price of airfare and renting a car to his credit card, as he doesn't currently have the funds to deal with such emergencies. This is in addition to the large amount of debt he's already taken on in student loans to attend USC and support himself while in Los Angeles.

This GoFundMe has been launched in an effort to rally those who love Zaiver (and his momma, Miss Teressa) and offer him the same love and support he so often gives to others. The $2100 goal would fully reimburse Zaiver for his airfare and rental car -- and hopefully relieve some of the stress and worry of this time. If he's able to be with his mother and see her through surgery, he will be in a much better mental and emotional space to take on the semester the same way he tackles everything else in life: with grace, humility, and infectious positivity.

And truly, there is no other person more deserving of our generosity than Mr. Sinnett. In the less than six months that Zaiver has been at USC, he's already become well-known within the Writing Division as an all-star student. Professors adore him. His cohort and fellow colleagues in the cinema school admire and respect him. And his writing and voice is celebrated for his commitment to telling women's and LGBTQ stories with honesty, heart, and specificity.

Again, if there was ever any individual worthy of a little help and TLC it is Zaiver Sinnett.

I've only known him for less than a year, but his genuine heart, resilient spirit, positive attitude, and compassion for those around him has solidified him as one of my closest friends -- a friendship I know will be lifelong.

As a 2nd Year MFA in the same program, I know how difficult it can be to get through the courses and feel successful in the work you're doing. I cannot imagine what it must be like to also know the person you love the most is in a hospital bed all the way across the country. 

Please join me in contributing whatever you can to help alleviate the additional financial stress of this time. Any amount is much appreciated and no amount is too small. Once the funds are raised, they will be deposited to Zaiver via check or PayPal to reimburse him for the additional costs he's had to incur to take this emergency trip home.

From the very bottom of my heart,
Michelle Denise Jackson