The Story

Greetings and welcome to, well, a lot of things. Welcome to a personal plea, to an experiment of sorts, to an invitation, to the beginning of one journey, the middle of another, and the end of yet another.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Katie. I’m a 21-year-old friend, sister, daughter, student, learner, writer, and seeker, among many other things.

For the past three years, I’ve spent the months between September and May enrolled as a student at Huntington University, a Christian, liberal arts university in Huntington, Indiana. As my family and friends have frequently attested to, my time as a student here has shaped me in wildly life-changing ways. I don’t think that Huntington University is just another school. I believe in this institution and I am of the opinion that it offers shockingly more than just an education.

I firmly believe that my experiences as a student at Huntington University have driven me to think, love, listen, learn, grow, and live–all much more purposefully and effectively than I ever have before. 

My loud praises for my involvement with this institution come from many different places. One of these places is not even the school itself, but the town of Huntington–the people I’ve met outside the perimeter of campus, the neighborhoods I’ve walked or biked through literally hundreds of times, and a life-giving church community located two miles from campus that I am grateful to call home.

If you’re unfamiliar with Huntington, I’ll tell you that it’s a small town that’s bursting at the seams with hurting, broken people, many of whom have been trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty for most or all of their lives. Let me also mention that these broken people are beautiful, that these folks have spread light to me in ways nobody else has. Huntington is hurting, but it is also full of hope and resurrection. Hear me when I tell you that I want to be a part of this hope.

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Now that you’ve seen a small glimpse of my experiences as a Huntington University student, I hope you’ll understand why I so badly desire to return for my senior year this Fall.

The problem and reason for all of this explaining is simple:
I don’t have the funds to return as a student for the upcoming year. 

This is where you come in. This is where the plea takes place, the experiment takes off, and the journey begins.

And the solution, just like the problem, is pretty simple:
I am humbly asking each person who comes across this website to contribute $1.00 to my tuition fund. 

You may be asking,”If you love the town of Huntington so much, why don’t you just drop out of school and live there anyway?” I’ll be the first to admit that it’s a fair question.

So here’s my answer: as you probably know, attending a small, private university is extremely expensive. As someone who has paid the vast majority of her way through the first three years, I’m shooting it straight with you and telling you, vulnerably, that I’ve racked up some lofty student loans. It’s one thing to begin the long repayment process with the degree in hand that the loan payments are going to pay for, but entirey another to do so without one.

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This is my story (or one of them, at least). If I’ve still got you reading, I’ve accomplished one goal. If you’re interested in financially supporting my enrollment at Huntington University with just $1.00, I’ve accomplished another.

Please see any one of the many PayPal buttons I’ve plastered all over this site to donate. Feel free to also peruse other features on this site, including a list of links to websites that are significant in my life and the “About Me” page, just in case you’re curious about just who your dollar is supporting!

Peace to all,
Katie