hi I am Jamal Martin I go by mail I've struggled for days with how to talk about this but I am choosing vulnerability and transparency as well as a simple message to you I am at risk at losing a major opportunity and I need your help last year I was admitted to a master's program at the warten school at the University of Pennsylvania if you're not familiar it is the oldest and most prestigious business school in the world my attendance at important would mean a lot because I was the first in my family to get a 4-year college degree and I would be among the first to get a master's degree it would also send me along a trajectory to make a Major Impact in the communities like the one I grew up in I was raised by a single mom on the east side of Detroit Michigan she made $12 an hour most of my childhood and spent a lot of time moving from neighborhood to Neighborhood sometimes living with family and with friends no matter how tough it got she always made sure that I got to school each day she did the best that she could I wouldn't be here if it weren't for her and my older sister and the sacrifices that they made and I am eternally grateful part of what I want to do um after Wharton is one pay her back by helping her retire comfortably someday as well as Pay It Forward by helping the Next Generation find their way in my prior work I wrote case studies at Harvard Business School where I studied entrepreneurs that were building businesses that were making major impacts in the world this inspired me to follow my dreams I want to study and invent creative ways to leverage digital technology to help the public private and social sectors better serve people in need Warden is going to help equip me with the knowledge and the network to do exactly that unfortunately while applying to business school last year I have fell into a depression that forced me to take a mental health leave of absence from work I continued my leave of absence after getting accepted to Wharton and was cleared by my therapist to begin school in the fall of 2024 but when I enrolled for classes I was denied the loans that I needed to pay for school because of the debts that I incurred during my leave of absence and while I struggled to find consistent employment unfortunately none of my family members qualified to help support the loan either now I am enrolled in a full-time program with no way to pay for it and my living expenses are also piling up Warden has offered to give me a loan for my living expenses but only if I can raise the money to pay the tuition my remaining balance just for this year is roughly $70,000 a successful fundraising would allow me to focus on my studies and get as much out of this education as I can if you or anyone you know would find it in your heart to help me make this dream come true I promise to continue along this path to build a better future for people who grew up in homes and communities like mine please share this with anyone you think would like to support me and my mission and thank you for taking the time to listen to a little bit of my story and aspirations