Ph.D. for a Sci-Fi Writer!
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Help a Sci-Fi Writer Finish His Doctoral Dissertation
My name's Victor Koman. Some of you may remember me as the unprecedented three-time Prometheus Award-winning author of The Jehovah Contract, Solomon's Knife, and Kings of the High Frontier. You're probably wondering where I've been for the last couple of decades. Well, my wife, Veronica, had brain surgery to remove a tumor in 1994; she tried to continue working but had to stop in 1996. In subsequent years, she endured and survived two bouts with bacterial meningitis. (Important health tip: if anyone you care about exhibits flu-like symptoms, ask her to bend her neck forward. If she can't because it's stiff, rush her to a hospital immediately. You, too, can save a loved one from amputation or death.)
During that period, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and because Veronica could no longer drive, I became her mom's primary caregiver for seven years until she passed away at 101.
Something had to give during those years, and it was my writing, which I put into low gear for a while. I home-schooled our daughter for a year, then took a job as a secretary for an aerospace business, quickly moving up to programmer/analyst and web-app developer. The company paid for education, so I achieved an AA degree from a community college, a bachelor's in Information Systems from Redlands, and an MBA from Pepperdine.
Flash forward to 2014. I was on the verge of completing all my classes for a Ph.D. in Information Assurance and Security at Capella University--a top online university and a preferred provider for my employer. On Valentine's Day of last year, my manager handed me a layoff notice. My last day was Good Friday, 2014. As a Baby Boomer, it has proven difficult to find new employment, even with my degrees and experience. I'd like to return to writing, but I want to finish my dissertation first. I owe that to my family, who had to endure this journey with me for the past several years.
I used my layoff pay and our savings to fund the final quarter of classes, one quarter of comprehensive exams, and the first quarter of the dissertation phase, but money's tight. Capella estimates that the dissertation process takes ten quarters, with a minimum requirement of four, and I know I can do it in that four-quarter minimum. I am a professional writer and researcher, unemployed, motivated, and I aim to achieve my goal by this time next year. I can take one unpaid quarter to write the dissertation after I have gathered the data. It looks as if I need at least this coming quarter and the next to get to that point (the approval process is what takes time, not my productivity, since I am working way ahead of the milestones the school considers for each stage of approval). After the writing break, another quarter for the final dissertation approval process.
Here's the pitch: Each quarter costs $3,800. If you go fund me for the final three quarters, I know I can push through to a doctorate. I'm setting the goal at $11,400. Here's what's in it for you: I will mention your name in the Acknowledgments section of my Ph.D. dissertation (if the school won't permit that, then in my first book as a Ph.D.). As an added incentive, if you are the highest funder, you will get an entire book dedicated to you! And the sooner I am done with my doctorate, the sooner I can get back to writing new novels.
Want to read the sequel to Kings of the High Frontier (a.k.a. Book Two of The High Pilgrimage: The Chaos Orbit)? Want another Captain Anger Adventure (The Ivory Tower)? Want a sequel to The Jehovah Contract (Jehovah II: The God After)? Want something entirely new? Then help me put this degree to bed! And thank you for your support! #DoctorSciFi #VictorKoman
My name's Victor Koman. Some of you may remember me as the unprecedented three-time Prometheus Award-winning author of The Jehovah Contract, Solomon's Knife, and Kings of the High Frontier. You're probably wondering where I've been for the last couple of decades. Well, my wife, Veronica, had brain surgery to remove a tumor in 1994; she tried to continue working but had to stop in 1996. In subsequent years, she endured and survived two bouts with bacterial meningitis. (Important health tip: if anyone you care about exhibits flu-like symptoms, ask her to bend her neck forward. If she can't because it's stiff, rush her to a hospital immediately. You, too, can save a loved one from amputation or death.)
During that period, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and because Veronica could no longer drive, I became her mom's primary caregiver for seven years until she passed away at 101.
Something had to give during those years, and it was my writing, which I put into low gear for a while. I home-schooled our daughter for a year, then took a job as a secretary for an aerospace business, quickly moving up to programmer/analyst and web-app developer. The company paid for education, so I achieved an AA degree from a community college, a bachelor's in Information Systems from Redlands, and an MBA from Pepperdine.
Flash forward to 2014. I was on the verge of completing all my classes for a Ph.D. in Information Assurance and Security at Capella University--a top online university and a preferred provider for my employer. On Valentine's Day of last year, my manager handed me a layoff notice. My last day was Good Friday, 2014. As a Baby Boomer, it has proven difficult to find new employment, even with my degrees and experience. I'd like to return to writing, but I want to finish my dissertation first. I owe that to my family, who had to endure this journey with me for the past several years.
I used my layoff pay and our savings to fund the final quarter of classes, one quarter of comprehensive exams, and the first quarter of the dissertation phase, but money's tight. Capella estimates that the dissertation process takes ten quarters, with a minimum requirement of four, and I know I can do it in that four-quarter minimum. I am a professional writer and researcher, unemployed, motivated, and I aim to achieve my goal by this time next year. I can take one unpaid quarter to write the dissertation after I have gathered the data. It looks as if I need at least this coming quarter and the next to get to that point (the approval process is what takes time, not my productivity, since I am working way ahead of the milestones the school considers for each stage of approval). After the writing break, another quarter for the final dissertation approval process.
Here's the pitch: Each quarter costs $3,800. If you go fund me for the final three quarters, I know I can push through to a doctorate. I'm setting the goal at $11,400. Here's what's in it for you: I will mention your name in the Acknowledgments section of my Ph.D. dissertation (if the school won't permit that, then in my first book as a Ph.D.). As an added incentive, if you are the highest funder, you will get an entire book dedicated to you! And the sooner I am done with my doctorate, the sooner I can get back to writing new novels.
Want to read the sequel to Kings of the High Frontier (a.k.a. Book Two of The High Pilgrimage: The Chaos Orbit)? Want another Captain Anger Adventure (The Ivory Tower)? Want a sequel to The Jehovah Contract (Jehovah II: The God After)? Want something entirely new? Then help me put this degree to bed! And thank you for your support! #DoctorSciFi #VictorKoman
Organizer
Victor Koman
Organizer
Huntington Beach, CA
