Thursday, March 12, 2015

Update - 03/12/15 (AKA 'Big Movement!')


Well...

As has happened in the past, it has been several months since my last posting here (circa December, 2014). I started working on this entry a couple of weeks ago, but have been tweaking and adjusting it a fair bit before posting. While I do feel some embarrassment from the delay, I have to admit that part of it was due to my desire to have specifics to share and so I waited until I did.

Sadly, no definitive news yet on the potential discontinuation of the theatre BA program at UAF. I had initially heard that they would be making some form of announcement in early February and since we are entering the second full week of that month I had my hopes up...but nothing. I did hear that there are additional steps in the process which could make it May or June before the announcement. Were I to be cynical, I might attribute such a delay to the university president resigning at the end of the academic year, and if the decision is delayed then he would be able to avoid any potential backlash. Were I being cynical. Now my understanding is that no decisions will be made until the Fall. Herrmn.

It is nearing on two full years since my last time in a class at UAF. Nowhere near my previous 27 year lapse. Still, it agitates me. In part because I had plans to be at a certain place in my academic career by this point. And in part due to the fact that a variety of those folks who I had hoped to work with will, by the time I get back in the Fall, have graduated and moved on.

As I mentioned in the first full paragraph, I have been working on, toying with, and holding back on posting this entry for awhile. Besides the above mentioned reasons, I wanted to be certain of some things that were complete in my efforts to raise funding. Now, as they used to say in trailers for various genre films, the truth can be told – the simple, very short version: I have raised sufficient funds to allow me to return to Fairbanks and UAF as of April 1st to complete my degree with an intended graduation date of May, 2016.

The more convoluted version? Well....

As many/most of you reading this are aware, I have been attempting to find funding - by way of scholarships, sponsorships, etc – to be able to return to classes since the Spring of 2013. Several times I had been hopeful about things, and even posted here regarding them (such as my attempts to save up the funds from gigs with Summer theatre work, etc). I wrote these entries in part to help maintain my positive outlook, which I feel has helped me get through some pretty stressful times since my return to school. That isn't to say that I have not had times of depression, such as recently (relatively speaking) when I heard about the 'special review process' and the potential elimination of the theatre BA at UAF. Depressive trigger not withstanding, that announcement did serve as an additional spur to help drive me to find some way of funding a return to school for Fall 2015.

The struggle for funding reached a turning point when, during a chat with my brother regarding a different matter, I was reminded of a potential funding source that might help meet some of my school expenses. After some online searching, I found the appropriate website and did some research. And began kicking myself for not thinking of this option sooner. Because I found that by using this source I would, after taxes and such, have just enough to pay for my final year at UAF, including (at that point in my calculations) on campus housing (which, after having spent the entirety of the 2013 academic year living in what could be called “unapproved housing” was something of importance in my calculations, as I didn't really want to have to deal with that stress again if I could find any way of avoiding it). Of course, things were not immediately that easy.

After submitting my paperwork I spent several weeks waiting, with baited breath, the deposit of funds. Which seemed to take an interminably long while, though in reality it went fairly quickly - roughly a month from initial discovery/realization regarding the funding source till the funds were in my bank.

Then came the clearing of some past due issues with UAF. Simple enough. But...I then discovered that, because of the amount of time that had passed since my last attendance (~24 months) I would be required to submit an application for re-admission. Yeesh. Yet another source of stress feeling worry that, for whatever reason, the university might not let me back in. After several phone conversations with the office of admissions, I was approved for re-admission. But...(are you seeing a pattern developing here?)...but I will probably not be getting the residency standing (“administrative agreement”) which had allowed me to take classes at the resident tuition rate. This is a big issue. A solution to this issue, which was suggested by one of the admissions department representatives, was to take classes this Summer, since all Summer classes are charged at the resident tuition rate. Also, I could potentially take up to 4 semester credit hours during each semester of the regular academic year and those classes would be charged at the resident rate. Which, if I do things just right, will allow me to graduate in May of 2016. Oh, another But: my placement scores from 2013 had expired, so I needed to take a new math placement test to be able to register for the Summer courses I need/want. Thankfully, in the interim since my last testing the university has shifted from a location based test to a web based test. Which allowed me to test from here, rather than waiting until I got back to Fairbanks. And so, on the third attempt (out of the permitted five) I got a sufficient score to meet the registration requirements. As soon as I could I registered for two classes: the needed math and one of my needed sciences. That still leaves a single 4 credit hour science course needed. Since I will know by the end of the month – which is when the Fall registration links come online – if I can get the resident tuition or not (it will have that notation on a form I need) I can then decide how I will approach my remaining course needs. Because while I would love to get some additional studio art courses under my belt if I can only get 4 credit hours at resident rate then that 4 credit hours is going to have to be my second required science course (probably Intro to Astronomy, which is only offered in the Fall). Now, for a final but – since I will likely only be taking 4 credit hours in the Fall I will not qualify for on campus housing...So I have been searching for somewhere off campus that might meet budget limits. And I think that I have a place worked out, even if it is really at the high end of my price range and thus stretching my budget a bit. That is still in process, so I will not say any more on that subject at the moment.

So.

Even with all the various fits, starts, and sundry spasms that have occurred, I am finally on my way back to classes and on the road again towards one of my goals. 

As things currently stand my academic plan for the near term is as follows:

** Depart from St Louis on March 31st via Alaska Airlines, with stops in Seattle and Anchorage.
** Arrive Fairbanks midday-ish on April 1st.
** Continue to get organized for Summer semester, which starts in late May.
** Work on my portfolio in preparation for a hoped for trip to the URTA interviews in Chicago next January, as well as for portfolio review sessions in the Fall and Spring semesters in the theatre department at UAF.
** Summer semester classes.
** Fall semester class(es).
** Spring semester class – I might need to take a course in intermediate acting to fulfill a slot in the curriculum for my major. Maybe. I'll be discussing such points with my adviser and the department head as soon as possible.
** Graduation – Spring 2016!

Now, the above list does not include work on several projects which I have percolating and have been, at minimum, doing conceptual work on since Spring 2013. I admit, I find myself reticent to share too much about those beyond the various mentions I have already made here in some prior entries...perhaps there will be more later, once I am back in Fairbanks. That being said, I do expect to do artistic work in addition to the academic work required by my math and science courses.

Herrmn. I think that I shall wrap this entry up now, and get back to packing and organizing and all such sundry things. I'll post more soon-ish, though it might not be until I am ensconced in whatever my new housing will be back up in Fairbanks.

Till then thanks again to all of you for your support.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                              My school related fundraising site:
                                   Help Me Continue My Educational Momentum

              A portfolio of my various work and projects, both theatrical and otherwise. 

                                             My general, rather eclectic, Tumblr:
                                                     Semi-Random Shavings