Many new Queer people of color (QPOC) graduates and creatives exiting academia hoping to start new projects and give their talents back to the world, face many added disadvantages on their journey due to systemic racism and discrimination and ultimately leave with greater debt. The average cost for a 4-year degree in-state is $87,800. For many students entering college, especially black and brown students, and in particular QPOC, the cost is unfeasible without loans. While the benefits that come from completing a degree cannot be overlooked, the consequences of having to deal with large student loans can't be either. QPOC pull back from starting businesses, completing amazing projects, buying homes, or following our passions because of debt. In return, our society as a whole becomes less rich and less safe. Q26 wants to help alleviate this inequality by raising funds for scholarships.

Q26’s Fall fundraiser will raise funds to help six queer academics and artists of color pay off the sum of at least 3 loan payments. By creating this fundraiser, we’re hoping that it gives these students and graduates a little space to work on their goals and well-being without having to worry about their payments. This is for the creatives, the teachers, the tech enthusiasts, the activists, and the storytellers out there that have so much more to give to our society than a loan payment. And, this is for the people out there who will inevitably be affected by them.

Meet one of our six QPOC recipients: Christine Alcanar who grew up in Anaheim, CA, and is currently located in Irvine, CA.

Q26: Can you tell me a little bit about what you studied in college?

Christine Alcanar: In undergrad, I studied English Literature first at the University of California, Riverside, and then at the University of Southern California for my junior- and senior years. Throughout those four years, I leaned into taking courses that would really transform how I viewed the world: by deliberately choosing professors, adjuncts, and instructors who had the calling to change the field of English literature with their views on multiculturalism and inclusivity. As time went on, I grew to recognize the significance and the necessity of centering Black, Indigenous, femme, immigrant, and queer voices in spite of English's White, patriarchal, heteronormative, cis-normative, Eurocentrist traditions. It's a testament to my undergrad experience that I am now working to become a Secondary English teacher with the goal of integrating those same antibias and antiracist philosophy onto the public school curriculum. I am currently finishing up a Master's program for teaching so that I can soon be credentialed and have a classroom of my own to help future generations reimagine and build a better future.

Q26: How would the money raised during this fundraiser help you?

Christine: The money raised during this fundraiser would help me pay off the loans that I have accrued from the six-years of college-level coursework needed to become a credentialed and degreed teacher. Teachers in the U.S. are overworked and underpaid - it is an unfortunate reality in my aspirations of becoming an educator. With this money alleviating my student loans, I would not have to be so concerned with making ends meet (i.e., rent, food, bills, etc.). I would be able to invest the money for myself, for my family, and, most of all, for a chance to marry my partner. As of right now, any discussion about marriage is put on hold until we both can pay off our loans, and, like most first-generation college students, it was hard to finance my education and livelihood through part-time jobs alone. Because of this, I have quite a sum that I have to pay back. This fundraiser would ultimately help me invest in the other facets of my life: as a teacher, as a partner, and a parent to two cats!

Q26: What do you want the people who are contributing to this fundraiser to know about you?

Christine: I just want the people who are contributing to this fundraiser to know that I am so thankful for their donations. It has been such a long and reflective journey for me to finally realize what my calling is. I've been told that I would never be hired as a teacher because of my gender non-conforming appearance, my tattoos, or my sexual orientation. It took me a long time to stop believing in that, but what helped was finding that community who believed in me and my aspirations. This fundraiser is yet again another affirmation of what I'm doing in my life (both personally and with my career), so I thank you.

Please visit the following link if you would like to donate to Q26’s Fall Fundraiser: https://gf.me/u/ytwjin.