Hi, I'm Adam , a warm welcome to my campaign - thanks for clicking!

I am hoping to raise at least £17,062 in order to secure my place at Oxford University to study the 1-year Msc in Nature, Society, and Environmental Governance. This March I was offered a course and college place (Regent's Park College). Unfortunately however, I have not been selected for a scholarship , and simply do not have the means to pay for it myself . The prospect of forfeiting my offer due purely to a lack of funds terrifies me! I am therefore placing my faith in the generosity of people like you to enable me to embark on my mission to do something positive about the environmental challenges we face, whilst realising my ambition of studying at Oxford.

I discovered recently that over 1000 prosepctive postgraduate students turn down offers from Oxford every year becasue they simply can't foot the bill. Please help me to ensure that I don't become just another statistic.

ABOUT ME

I come from a modest family and have been state-schooled for my whole education. In 2017, I graduated from the University of Sussex with a 1st class degree in International Relations, and recieved my school's award for the highest overall score in my subject (for the privilege of this experience I also recieved £51,000+ of debt). Since graduating, I have been looking for work in the environmental sector whilst working for a food delivery company. I am a humble and down-to-earth person, and have never taken the opportunities I have had for granted. I currently live in Belgium, where I am studying for a qualification in Dutch, which has been a personal goal of mine for a long time.

In my time at university I developed a real desire to put my knowledge to good use. I saw around me - and within the climate of monetised education more broadly - an individualisation of knowledge and a tendency to see degrees as stepping-stones to individual success and self-valorisation. I truly believe that education is not a privilege for the individual, but a good for the community . As a result, I have become passionate about dedicating my life, and the knowledge that I have been lucky enough to gain access to, to a cause that transcends what I want in the here and now.

As an active member in climate awareness groups and political issuses surrounding the enivronment, I feel my wider knowledge of the reality of these issues is often skewed.  A practical approach to big issues (such as air and sea pollution, and climate change, for example) requires thorough study, distillation, and a practical understanding of the necessary bureaucracy involved in making real change happen. What I think is more important, is that young people become engaged with environmental issues, and empowered to feel they can do something about it - something that's really lacking right now!

On the back of this belief, I chose to apply to Oxford for the Msc in Nature, Society, and Environmental Governance. To my (genuine!) surprise I was accepted and now face the daunting challenge of proving I can pay for it.

WHY OXFORD?

Firstly, as I mentioned above, I believe that environmental issues are often far more complex than they appear; they demand dedicated and prolonged study. Secondly, throughout my undergraduate degree I was always fascinated with the sociological and anthropological side to my discipline.  When I found the description of my course at Oxford, I was extremely excited; it combines courses from a range of social sciences to build a comprehensive and detailed understanding of environmental issues, shedding light on how they are interwoven with us and our behaviour as human beings (juicy!). You can read about the course here: https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses/msc-nature-society-and-environmental-governance?wssl=1

Finally, the School of Geography and the Environment at Oxford is world-leading. The access, tools, and support it provides seem to me unparalleled. I believe that spending a year in this department is an umissable opportunity to learn from some of the most important and experienced practitioners in the world. I feel truly honoured to have the opportunity to study there.

THE FEE

I have always paid my own way through my education (with the help, of course, of government loans) but with the little savings I have, I am in absolutely no position to pay the amount that Oxford requires. This really is an inconcievable amount of money for me.

Oxford requires proof by July 31st 2018 of my ability to pay £17,062 . If I cannot raise this amount, my place will be revoked.

This amount can be broken down as follows:

- College fee: £3,112

- Tuition fee: £13,950

- Predicted Living costs (lower estimate): £12,168

Total: £29,230   (-£10,000 loan = £19,230)

In order to secure my place, the university does not need proof of my ability to pay living expenses , only the College fee (£3,112) and the Tuition fee (£13,950). If I can secure my place, I can apply for another student loan of £10,000 to cover living expenses - leaving £2,168 to reach Oxford's predicted living costs.For this reason, I have decided to set the minimum for this campaign at £17,062 (the amount needed to secure my place) and the overall goal at £19,230: it would be unethical to ask for more than I need, but pointless to ask for less. Don't worry, donations will only be withdrawn if I make the minimum I need to attend!

Please have my absolute assurance that your donation will only ever be spent on either tuition, college fees, costs of academic materials or necessary living expenses!

WHAT I WILL DO

Education, when used wisely, benefits everybody. Your donation is an investment not only in me as a student, but also in the environmental cause and society as a whole. Under the privilege of being funded by you, I will see it as even more important that this generosity translates into social good. I will:

- Publish all of my work on a website available to everbody.

- Write as frequently as I can about the topics I am studying, and the direction of my life post-Oxford.

- Give advice to anybody pursuing the same direction as me.

If I have convinced you to make me a donation, I am sincerely grateful for your generosity and your belief in me , and look forward to thanking you with a gift. THANKS!

If you choose not to donate, thank you for taking the time to get the bottom of this page! Why not share it instead?

Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any queries about me or my campaign.

Kind regards,

Adam