The Kennesaw State men’s basketball team are making their second trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history. The No. 14-seed Owls will play No. 3 seed Gonzaga on Thursday night in Portland, Oregon.
It’s the farthest possible location for the Owls to travel. And one student journalist used social media to raise funds to cover the tournament.
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On a student budget, Kai Millette writes for the school paper the Sentinel. It was going to be hard for him to come up with travel funds with only a few days notice.
After some conversations with his peers, he decided to post a GoFundMe late Sunday night. His goal: $1,200 to cover flights, hotel room and food. By late Monday, the fundraiser reached over $1,500.
Millette told Channel 2 Action News the kindness from both his friends and strangers has been encouraging.
“You know, there are people within the KSU community who I’ve never met personally who have just appreciated the work I’ve done over the last few years,” he told Channel 2 Action News.
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Millette was even surprised to see one of his first donations came from Kennesaw State football head coach Jerry Mack.
“And then there have been journalists from all sorts of random corners of the country who just wanted to back a student journalist getting the chance to cover their mid-major school in March Madness,” he said. “So it’s been encouraging. I feel very seen and appreciated and I’m very thankful for everybody who was willing to contribute."
Millette will be able able to stay in Portland through Sunday, so if the Owls advance to the second round, he will be there.
He also has a life goal of visiting all 50 states before he turns 25. He’s currently at 42 states - Oregon is one of the eight he hasn’t visited yet.
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