As a child I spent my time in rural Northern California cities and the Bay Area. While the rural contrasted the urban, neither area promoted artists or heritage of the region. I believed that was how all societies operated, but when I participated a 30-day study abroad program to Vienna, Austria doing my undergraduate years at UC Davis, I learned that there was a different approach government could pursue. The city of Vienna prioritized developing fresh perspectives of its heritage to create a powerful regional identity that brought connection to its evolving communities. After several years, I discovered that what Vienna was implementing was called Heritage Conservation. This fall I will start my second and final year in the Master of Heritage Conservation program at the University of Southern California (USC.) I chose the Master of Heritage Conservation program at USC in Los Angeles, California because the program emphasizes restoring and documenting the histories of underacknowledged communities. I have experience working in Northern and Southern California and found that there is a great need for individuals who can effectively conduct deep historical research to help advocate for saving local and state heritage sites and histories. My program is full-time which has limited my ability to take on a substantial part time job. In addition, USC is a private institution, and I am depending on loans to cover my tuition and living costs for residing in Los Angeles, one of the most expensive cities in the United States. Although there were other graduate programs I was considering, USC has the only Heritage Conservation program on the West Coast of the United States. Therefore, it is the only program that would effectively prepare me for working in the state of California. As is, my program tuition is $57,000/ year. Because of my previous GPA I received a $17,000 merit scholarship from USC for my first year, and a $15,000 scholarship from a local community foundation, both potentially renewable. Unfortunately, I still had to take out $45,000 per year in loans to cover my remaining tuition and cost of living: food, rent, utilities, health insurance, and personal incidentals. For my last year of graduate school, I am determined to cover 100% of my tuition costs through scholarships. In addition, my graduate school provides free housing to 3 graduate students each school year who are completing their last year in school. Although it is a competitive process, I plan to apply for the opportunity in hopes of obtaining free housing so that my only costs for my final year will be food, cell phone bill, and credit card payments. Since housing is offered based on academic GPA and letters of recommendation from Faculty, and I have a good working relationship with many faculty members, I believe I have a great chance at being offered housing. If I can continue working 5-10 hours a week through my on-campus job, I will have all of my cost covered for my last year and will not need to take out any loans. I believe that finishing my program is necessary now more than ever, as over the next decade Los Angeles County will be rebuilding communities and heritage resources that were lost in the 2025 Wildfire Storms in the Palisades and Altadena areas. I look forward to joining the heritage conservation workforce on the West coast to help ensure heritage sites connected to diverse cultures remain accessible for communities in the future.