Hi, everyone! First, I want to humbly thank you for supporting this petition. I am honored and privileged that friends, family, and strangers are supporting me and many other across the nation in similar situations in this effort. I decided to reach out to Georgia State Senator, Jon Ossoff, about this matter. Below is the message I sent him on his website. I received a notice that I will hear from someone in 5-7 business days. Feel free to read and share this petition with your friends and family. 

Hello! I hope all is well. First, I want to thank you for serving the State of Georgia. I voted for you in the last election and I am proud of the job you have done so far. I actually have a petition on change.org (Link: https://www.change.org/releasethetranscripts about college transcripts being held hostage bu colleges and universities with unpaid balances that many students cannot afford to pay unless they are able to get a better paying job. I graduated from Brenau University August, 2021 with my Master of Science in Clinical Counseling Psychology to become a professional counselor. I graduated with a balance at the time of $5970 and an understanding that I will not receive my degree or transcripts until it gets paid, but it will still be released for employment and licensing purposes (as long as I had a payment plan). I set the payment plan low until my transcript could be sent to my internship who was hiring me at the time and made my first payment. A month later, I did not hear anything back. When I reached out to the school they informed me that I was misinformed that that nothing would be released until the balance was paid even if it is for employment and licensing purposes. More of this story is mentioned in my petition. I have been struggling for over a year and a half and I just received an eviction notice for my apartment because I have been struggling making ends meet. I know I qualify for an excellent paying job right now in my field, but because Brenau refuses to release my transcripts to potential employers I have not been able to get anything to improve my financial situation. As a result things have been getting worse and worse. I was just offered a job for Adjunct Professor for a college and I am at risk of losing this opportunity that could improve my financial situation and paying back what I owe Brenau because they denied releasing my transcript for this job. I've learned this has been a problem among many college campuses across the country. I would love to have a conversation about this situation with you if you are interested in hearing my story. What hurts even worse is that I spent part of my time (about 18 months) living in my car while in graduate school with some of that time after I transferred to Brenau from another school that closed down. I have struggled for the last few years, but I kept going because I found my calling. Now, I can't even securely get a higher wage with a position that I qualify for simply because Brenau will not release my transcripts and they are demanding I pay my balance in full. My balance is now down to $5170 from a credit I received earlier this year that I was not aware I was going to receive. I don't want a handout. I just want to get a decent job so I can afford to live and pay the school what I owe.