Fancy (April) Returns To College Fund

I am a 47-year-old mother, who raised 3 beautiful ladies and am now helping to raise my amazing grandson. When my girls were young, I tried returning to college many times, but it just never seemed to work out well. Now, they have all flown the coup and it’s time for me to do things for me. Education was always important to my family, and I felt like it was disappointing to them that I didn’t finish any degree. But I’m not doing this for them, I’m doing this for me. I hope my momma and nana are looking down from heaven and are proud of their girl.

As a little girl I always wanted to be an actress and I achieved a fair amount of success before leaving the industry to raise my children. I had always thought I’d return at some point, but life just kept somehow standing in the way and to give my girls the best life we moved away from California to my husband’s home state of Kentucky. There aren’t a whole lot of opportunities here for a middle-aged actress unless you want to be a scream queen’s mom. My acting coach, Amy Lyndon stopped me in the middle of a session and said some harsh words to me but in the end, she basically told me if opportunities weren’t here for me then I had to make my own. I took that talk to heart.

I created my own production company and began producing my own content. I hadn’t expected to enter the true-crime field when I started Mad Ginger Entertainment, but a door opened, and I walked right through. Over the last six years I have researched a case out of Missouri, the Gypsy Rose Blanchard case, that has been presented to the world untruthfully. My team and I set out to tell the good, the bad and the ugly and the ugly really prevailed. We produced our own podcast, The Good Wives’ Guide to True Crime, with no budget and little knowledge in the podcasting world. Now, the podcast and a successful YouTube channel is in its third year, and we plan to launch a streaming network early next year.

I have appeared as an expert on A&E’s, Killer Cases, and Reelz Channel’s, Copycat Killers. I have also been featured in several magazines regularly over the last five years. I have given speeches at several genre specific conventions, and we have two books set to hit the shelves in 2023, as well as a documentary. It is my work on this case that inspired me to go into the field of forensic psychology. I have always been obsessed with true crime and more so into the working of the criminal mind. I feel that a degree in forensic psychology will not only help my company goals but will give me personal satisfaction as well. I want to show my girls it’s never too late to go to school or follow your dreams.

As I stated I’ve tried to go to school many times over the last 30 years, but it never quite worked out. I think that’s because I hadn’t found the right path. In these times I used up all my loan money and most of the pell grant when Obama passed the 5 year pell grant cap. So at this time I have 12 classes I need to take to finish my degree in Forensic Psychology and then I plan to continue on to law school. Unfortunately, I am going to have to pay for those 12 classes partially out of pocket. I need to complete six 8 week terms, 2 classes at a time which adds up to a total of three trimsters. I need about $1000 a trimster to finish. That doesn't cover books or expenses but I believe I can cover that myself. I simply want to ensure I get to complete this degree. Total transparency of use of funds will provided as well as updates along my journey.

I am currently applying for grants and scholarships but they aren't coming in fast enough for me to start by Jan 2, 2023. I know if I don't get that start I will once again get wrapped up in my life and won't get back to school. Due to complications from Covid & my already known health issues I'm not able to work like I used to so I can't go pick up part time work or extra work like I normally would have, to fill this gap. So, I'm asking family, friends, and collegues to help me achieve this goal.

I’ve never been more solid in my choice to return to school. It’s funny to be almost 50 and thinking about finishing my degree and even considering attending law school after I finish my BA but it’s my time now and this is what I’ve decided I want to do. Maybe, I’ll end up as a federal prosecutor or a criminal profiler, but probably will just use it to provide accurate information and analysis or our cases covered on our Network. The sky’s really the limit and I’ve been told 50 is the new 30 so I’m right on track.

Thank you for your help in seeing me achieve my dreams