Longtime CultureMap readers likely remember Fayza Elmostehi, our sharp-tongued, quick-witted former advice columnist. (She's now the distinctive voice behind the Houston Museum of Natural Science's social media outlets.)
Fayza received a law degree in 2005, and while those aforementioned razor-sharp qualities seem advantageous for gaining courtroom wins, she opted against the "soul-sucking" work of an ambulance-chasing attorney and decided, instead to put her skills to creative use — think blog posts, tweets and Facebook updates — and she says, to support charitable causes with her non-profit paycheck.
"I mean, Zach Braff? I kinda hate him."
With the understanding that her line of work will never make her mega rich, especially with a mountain of law school debt hanging over her head, Fayza is asking for help paying for her mistakes in a GoFundMe plea entitled "Help Me Pay For My Mistakes!" She's asking for $100,000 — to pay off her student loans.
"I only started [the GoFundMe page] on a lark because everyone is starting one. I mean, Zach Braff? I kinda hate him," Fayza tells CultureMap, pointing to the wealthy "indie" actor's recent Kickstarter campaign to fund Wish I Was Here, a follow-up movie to Garden State.
That campaign, which was controversial from its launch on April 24, surpassed the $2 million fundraising goal with a total haul of $3.1 million.
Fayza's own campaign has been decidedly less successful so far. After approximately four days online, she has raised $10 of the $100,000 she's seeking (and that $10 is all from one donation).
"I saw someone asking for money to fund her photography project, someone asking for money to fund her surgery . . . I mean, why not my loans? It's just as selfish as anyone else's campaign. Except I don't actually expect mine to happen — that's the difference," Fayza says.
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Photo by Leonid Furmansky