Kaishi Chhabra, an international student at Michigan State University was surprised by the support she received after her roommate set up a GoFundMe account to help her pay her tuition fees.

Chhabra came to MSU to study journalism and due to the pandemic, her father became unable to afford tuition fees. Her roommate, Emily Bevard, set up a the GoFundMe to help pay for Chhabra's last semester before graduation this summer.

"If she is unable to finance this semester, she will be disenrolled and forced to leave the United States immediately. It was a last ditch effort that I kind of put together. I was kind of just hoping that people would see it and do things, but I don't think either of us really thought that it would do much."

The GoFundMe gained traction when Chhabra and Bevard shared their post with their coworkers at the universities student newspaper. The post gained traction and received attention from several private donors. Chhabra was offered endowed scholarships and grants from private donors at MSU's College of Communication Arts and Sciences and the financial aid department. With help from the university, the GoFundMe goal was lowered from $20,000 to $4,000. With help from the community, Chhabra surpassed her goal, raising $4,700.

After graduation, Chhabra hopes to convert her school visa to a work visa if she is offered a position somewhere.

"If the opportunity arises and I'm offered a good position somewhere, I would love to stay here and you know just do my part and give back to the community that helped me."

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