Can you help??

I have a dream to become a nutritionist. I am currently a Licensed School Counselor and am going back to school to get my license as a Registered Dietician so I can counsel kids in nutrition. As a school counselor, I am seeing an alarming number of issues in young people (sleep deprivation, lack of concentration, low energy levels, behavioral concerns) that I am certain are nutrition-related. I do my best as a school counselor to help my students understand how proper eating affects their health and life, but I’d like to dig deeper with these students, and I feel that my hands are tied without formal education in nutrition.

So ... I signed up for classes. I'm starting off with 2 classes this fall at the University of Minnesota: Life Cycle Nutrition and Advanced Human Nutrition. I'm in my third week of classes and LOVE them. My first day of class, I wanted to jump out of my seat, I was so excited about what I was learning. I know, that's silly, but that's how passionate I am about truly learning about nutrition.



Here's the part where I'm struggling and where I need some help: The classes I registered for are $3209.90 . My husband and I both have our masters degrees and work in fields we love (both working with kids). He started a non-profit a year ago (www.iemphit.org), a clinic that uses exercise and nutrition to treat children with chronic conditions. He works 65+ hours a week and gets paid for 20. Last year, my hours as a school counselor were cut in half as well. The combination of salary cuts has been very challenging. I have saved about half of the money for tuition by selling things on ebay that I have purchased at garage sales (I've been doing this all summer), and am asking for help with the rest.

I've applied for financial aid; however, because these two classes I'm taking this semester are pre-requisites to my program, I am classified currently as a "non-degree-seeking student". Therefore, I'm not qualified for financial aid this semester. Next semester is a different story because I'll be in the program.



I believe that if you have a dream, you must believe that you will achieve it and you will. I believe that if I had waited until we were financially stable to register for classes, the wait would just grow and grow. I felt that the time was right and I needed to pursue this dream now. So I am. Believe me, it's not something I'm taking lightly. I started meeting with professors from the U of MN back in January, and have since spent countless hours researching school options, studying and taking the GRE, submitting the lengthy application, and planning out my classes for the next couple of years. I have applied for a graduate assistantship to start in January, which will pay for the rest of my schooling after this semester is over.


Would you be willing to donate a couple of dollars to help me pay for my classes by October 6th? October 6th is the deadline to pay, or I will be dropped from the classes. Any single dollar will help. I know EVERYBODY is experiencing a money crunch these days and I completely understand that a dollar or two might make or break a week's budget (I truly do understand!). I'm only asking for help from anyone who's willing and able.

I have to say that I was very nervous to write this letter (blog) because I KNOW that many people will read it and think, "Who does she think she is, asking people for money?". Again, I totally get that. And I'm okay with that. As a huge people-pleaser, believe me, it's hard to think that people might read this and think I'm doing the wrong thing by posting this. At this moment in time, this feels like the right thing to do.


HERE IS HOW I WILL PAY IT FORWARD .... For every $30 donated, I will donate one hour of time volunteering to a local cause. If you have a specific place you'd like me to volunteer, please let me know!! I have many ideas in mind, but am open to suggestions.

Here my donation link:



ABOVE ALL, I want to encourage and inspire you all to REACH FOR YOUR GOALS. Nothing is too big or too crazy if you believe in yourself and have faith that it will work out. You can do anything you want, I promise!! And please, please, please ... if you need help with pursuing YOUR dreams, please ask!!



PS. I will keep everyone up to date with my progress. If my money goal isn't met, or there are any significant changes, I will promptly return everything I've been given.