Tara Berkeley Grad School Fund

I beat the odds. My life experiences, both current and past, have taught me and demanded from me the skills needed to exhibit resilience in the face of adversity. Growing up, I experienced an early lack of parental support, financial disadvantage, the foster care system, and homeless shelters. My father, who has never been present in my life, spent the last 18 years in prison. My mother did the best she could while navigating the challenges that come with being a single mom, along with her own inner troubles. I was punished frequently by authority throughout my childhood for my hyperactivity but persevered despite neglect and abandonment. My coping behaviors resulted in a mutual withdrawal response from myself and the educators and counselors tasked with implementing my individualized education plan. These experiences had an impact on me as an individual as well as on my family dynamic.  I present this information to you not because it defines me. I present it because I am an undeniable example of what youth who are deemed “troubled” can accomplish if given support, intervention, and purpose.

At 14 years old, I found my first purpose in the sport of rowing. My mother strongly encouraged my participation in rowing because we knew of the collegiate scholarship opportunities. Given our socioeconomic circumstances, attending and funding education at a four-year university was not even an option. At the end of my high school career, my hard work culminated in a full athletic scholarship. 


Intercollegiate athletics exposed me to a new purpose, the world of academia. Prior to attending San Diego State, I was unaware of the opportunity to study and help the less fortunate. Three years ago, on the last day of my Introduction to Psychology Careers class, I had an epiphany. In class that day, Dr. Katherine Turner shared the story of her own academic path that culminated in her earning a Ph.D. from Stanford in Developmental Psychology. Representation is so important. At that moment, it clicked. Prior to that encounter, I had never been able to picture myself continuing my education in a postgraduate setting. 

Since that day in class, I devoted myself to achieving that goal and helping youth. I was acknowledged for my hard work several times. For 5 of my 8 semesters, my grades landed me on the Dean's List for the College of Sciences (3.5 semester GPA). I was named the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar team honoree this March for the second year in a row and was one of 15 SDSU student-athletes selected as a Malik Award recipient, honoring those who have achieved the highest GPA in the fall and/or spring semester.  I was recognized as an SDSU sports scholar for all of my semesters at SDSU.

In the fall, I am set to begin my postgraduate pursuits in the third-ranked Master in Social Welfare program at the University of California, Berkeley. My desire is to intervene positively and constructively in the lives of youth who are navigating an array of oppressive circumstances by helping them find their purpose and/or just being a steady source of support and guidance. I have been a summer camp counselor for youth navigating similar circumstances to mine for the past three years, and for this past year I volunteered to counsel youth detained in juvenile hall.

To achieve my desire, I plan to obtain my Master in Social Work as well as clinical licensure so that I can practice as a clinician, focusing on troubled youth. I also plan to pursue and contribute to research pertaining to youth who have survived trauma and/or other difficult circumstances. I plan to use these findings to create a social and emotional rehabilitative curriculum to be used by clinicians across the world with the aim of combatting any maladaptive social and/or emotional symptoms developed by youth during traumatization.

If you've made it to this point, thank you for reading! I have been financially independent since 18 years old, and my athletic scholarship covered tuition and provided me cost of living. However, now I find myself without any financial support.  Any amount would be so greatly appreciated.

#GFMScholarship

Thank you,
Tara Montgomery

Gofundme does take a percentage, so if you would like to donate to me directly my venmo is https://venmo.com/Tara-Montgomery-1

Here is a video from my first summer at camp!