Help me go to graduate school by cmariani

Scholarship granters made us think that people who deserved scholarships are those with academic excellence, leadership qualities, ambitious people, top notch intellectuals, winners, competitors, all the alphas of the pacts. It has been a kind of status symbol that getting a scholarship means you’re better, smarter than most people. After series of scholarship hunt I have to face it that I am not all that & I probably don’t want to be one of them. I may not the best people around to be elligible for a pretigious scholarship schemes and yet I am one of those who is determined to work hard, keep challenging myself, keep studying and seeking to exceed beyond my current capacities and be able to make better changes. I have my own vision for design education and my future creative practice in Indonesia and I am going to graduate school by raising my own funding!

I am an Indonesian design educator and a graphic designer, who have waited for over a decade to continue my study. This year I dare myself to apply to gradschool and have been accepted to a graduate school in New York. The school does not provide scholarship and also too expensive to be covered by most existing scholarships outside the institutions. Expensive dreams, I know. tuition fee is 36000 USD a year. that’s equal to 6 years of profesional level income in Indonesia, make that 12 years of income for 2 years the master’s degree program. Not to mention materials and study expenses.
There is no interest free education loan in my country and yet I am working on getting loan for the first year of my study. It is not enough and I might be drowning in debt by the time I am getting my degree. I have tried contacting many institutions, foundations, corporates locally and internationally to support me in funding my education. All resulting in negative responds. Most are not interested in my field of study or claiming they don’t fund individuals or politely referring to try other institutions. Bottomline, grants, scholarships, funding available from governments, patrons, philanthropist, foundations, institutions mostly come with certain agendas and some certain interests. Though they do have helped many but that many are still some small minority. They made us think that people who deserved scholarships are those with academic excellence, leadership qualities, ambitious people, top notch intellectuals, winners, competitors. I have to face it I am not all that and I probably don’t want to be one of them. I’ll say people who deserve scholarships are those who is eager to study no matter what is their qualifications, cv or personal qualities, And it has been a kind of status symbol that getting a scholasrhip means you’re better, smarter than most people. I am not a genius, I am not the smartest woman alive but I am not dumb either and I believe in my talent. I am not poor, I am not rich, I am not good at interviews because I am a reserved person, I am not the best people around to be elligible for a pretigious scholarship schemes and yet I am one of those who is determined to work hard, keep challenging myself and to keep studying and seek to exceed beyond my current capacities. I have my own vision for design education and my future creative practice in Indonesia and I am going to graduate school by raising my own funding!

I realize consorting to big corporations, governments or Institutions term for education funding is not the only way to get a chance for education. By initiating my own fund raising project by selling blank notebook journals, sketchbooks and t-shirt I am planning to go further and help people like me to fund themselves to graduate school or any schools of their choice,. not just merely schools that offered scholarship or schools that is relevant to some institutions funding interest. I want to help people that is less likely to get scholarships and I am going to make it happen, you can help me or just watch me!