Hello, my name is Amanda and I am running my first marathon on November 5th, 2023. I was given the opportunity to join the marathon after applying to receive a Charity Bib to raise money for the QCC fund. The QCC fund is a charity that provides direct support to college students that attend Queensborough Community College, my Alma Mater! I started my college journey attending Queensborough Community College and received my Associates Degree in 2012. I went on to become a triple CUNY graduate, holding a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from Queens College and a Masters in Social Work from Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work. I used my experience and skill set to pursue a career in college access and success and have served hundreds of college students as a College Persistence Advisor at an Educational Non-Profit in NYC! When I decided to run a marathon, my goals were primarily to stretch myself so far outside of my comfort zone and place myself in a situation where my progress and completion of the goal was solely based on my physical and mental inputs, after all the only way to reach this goal is if I cross the finish line myself! In so many ways the college experience is a marathon. As someone who values service and doing for others, the other very huge motivator for me is that I am not only running for myself but to support college students in completing the marathon that is college graduation. This experience of training for a marathon has been a major character development moment in my life. It has been so much more that running and achieving the physical stamina and endurance needed for the race. It has been about becoming a better version of myself, facilitating personal growth, and developing pride in my identity as a triple CUNY graduate and now College Success professional who is giving back to the institution where it all began, QCC! I was very fortunate to persist and be successful in college, it was not easy. Unfortunately there are several barriers to achieving this milestone, and the most pervasive for college students is due to a lack of financial aid. According to institutional research at QCC, 80% of students with balances of $500 or less were dropping out 😳😱🤯. The funds raised here will go to the QCC Fund to assist QCC students in clearing these balances and therefore removing holds preventing class registration. As a college advisor, I work with this issue day in and day out and support students navigating these circumstances daily. The ability to have a fund where students can access financial support for these relatively smaller balances would allow students to not only continue their education but to ultimately reach college graduation and begin their careers as professionals. Would you consider donating to support this cause? It would mean the world to me and to our students at QCC!