Angie is an inspiration to many. At 27 years old, she has endured so much in life, yet she continues to rise beyond her circumstances. She is the epitome of resilience. She began college shortly after she excited foster care in 2010, but as many young adults who age out of foster care will tell you, she wasn't ready to jump into college so quickly. The lack of emotional support, distance from her family and academic preparation, led her to feel overwhelmed and she dropped out of college. Thinking she was ready to return to school she tried again, this time at North Central Texas College. Despite her intentions to make school a priority, hurdles in her life caused school to be placed on the backburner again.
What once seemed like an insurmountable obstacle become significantly more achievable this week as Angie worked tirelessly to save and pay $1900 toward her outstanding school balances. She is now back in good standing with Texas Women's University and needs your help to get to the finish line.
She only has $942 left to pay before she will unlock the door to receiving financial aid again. Will you help her get this balance paid off, so she can begin school again?
In Angie's words, here's how your donation will help having a lasting impact in her life:
For people who don’t understand how financial aid holds work, can you explain a little about how you received the holds and why it is so imperative that you are able to pay it off?
"When I first attended TWU, I ended up withdrawing from college. I was living in the dorms and felt so alone and out of place. Back when I was attending, TWU did not have a foster care liaison like they do now. It was difficult for me to relate to my peers, and I struggled with normalcy during the summer because while I had to stay at the dorm since I had nowhere else to go while most of my peers went home to family or on vacation. I became severely depressed and stopped going to classes.
"Somehow, I was able to stay on dorm for 2 semesters without anyone noticing just how far behind and stuck I was."
After pulling myself back up again, I tried going to NCTC, but eventually was dropped from my classes because I missed school 3 times due to transportation issues. I accrued holds from both schools between the 2010-2011 school year. I have had holds at both schools which prevented me from receiving my official transcripts which is a requirement for financial aid eligibility.
If I can pay the schools, and get my transcripts, I can finally start getting financial aid again. I have been paying out of pocket for school expenses since 2012, which hasn't allowed me to stay consistent with school because sometimes paying for my needs and responsibilities took priority over school."
If the holds were removed and you could go back to school to pursue your degree, what do you want to study?
"I would like to complete my Associates of Arts degree and then transfer to a University to further my education in the veterinarian, wildlife and marine biology fields. Once I obtain my education in those fields, I plan on pursuing a degree in Business Management."
If the Zoie’s Place donors help you pay the $941.42 owed to NCTC how will you use that money? What snowball effect will the help of the donors provide for you?
"After I pay off my university holds, my next priority is medical care. I had a partial root canal in 2011 that was never finished and has been exposed for 8 years. I need to have the rest of my tooth removed and get some other dental work done. I’ve been given a quote of $2000 for the dental work that needs to get done so being able to save this $942 and put it towards the dental work would be a tremendous help for me. The last time I went to the dentist was 2016, this is a priority and your help will ensure I am able to take care of my dental and other medical needs."
