I am fundraising to save up money for my first quarter tuition to the Savannah College of Art and Design Fall of 2016.

Hello All! Thank you for taking your time to read my story. My name is Valerie and I'm a senior graduating from Wake NC State Early College High School in May. I will be graduating with 38 credits from my dual enrollment at North Carolina State University. After anxiously waiting to get accepted I received an acceptance letter in early April the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) . So far I have received a $2000 dollar scholarship but I am facing a challenge when it comes to tuition. I am a DACA student, which means I am not eligible for federal financial aid or any other loans. Therefore, I'd have to pay everything out of pocket. So far I am applying to almost 30k dollars worth of small scholarships and saving money by working this summer as well as doing community yard sales . I have reached out to social media and done the #paymytuitionchallenge on Instagram, twitter, and facebook. I have not heard anything back so far but I'm optimistic. Unfortunately, my mom will be laid off from work on May 20 leaving 1 source of income from my dad (step dad). My biological father refuses to be involved in my life and won't help with tuition. There is so much pressure for me to succeed at this goal because I'd be the first person in my family to go to college as well as the first to go to college in the US. I am setting a foundation for the future generations of my family. I have a younger brother and sister and if they see how determined and persistently I approach this challenge I am sure they will be inspired. I truly hope one day I can create my own scholarship fund to help kids like me achieve their dream of an education. Thank you for your time.

My tuition is $55,000 but I decided to break it down into three groups so I'm only asking for $18,334. The money will be used to pay my tuition, residence, materials, meal plan. and transportation.SCAD functions in a trimester system meaning there is a total of 3 quarters per year.

I am saving money myself by applying for scholarships and getting my community to help me by making a go fund me page. I will also be working full time this summer. My mother has been laid off recently so the help I'll receive from my family will be minimal. My Strategy: 500 people: $36.67 each or simply donate what comes from you heart :D

This is voluntary. The only perk I guess would be the satisfaction of helping a student with a dream. I wish I could offer more