For three students at Biola University, they share their dorm life with more than just their roommates and friends, they share it with thousands of online viewers. Unfortunately, the popular web show, “Dorm Series,” went on an indefinite hiatus this past fall when a vital member of the show didn’t return to Biola. But thanks to fans of their web show, film students Caleb Wheeler and Hunter Davis were able to help bring their friend and co-producer, Joseph Garrett, back to school after the film student had to take a semester off.

For Wheeler and Davis, their main loss was Garrett’s friendship.

“’Dorm Series’ completely set aside, we were just bummed not to have our friend come back,” said Wheeler.

The support of their fans was on full display when Wheeler and Davis launched the “Bring Joseph Home” campaign on IndieGoGo. Though they didn’t reach the original fundraising goal of $5,000, the money they did raise was a display of fans’ support, not only for “Dorm Series,” but also for Garrett himself. The “Bring Joseph Home” campaign was conceived out of the question, “What would we need to get Joe back?”

After Wheeler and Davis found that their show had about 1,000 regular viewers, they estimated that if each fan gave five dollars, Garrett could return to Biola.

Although the “Bring Joseph Home” campaign wasn’t as successful as the group had originally hoped, in the end Garrett was able to return. Garrett worked with the financial aid office to make it possible for him retain his academic scholarship for next fall.

Garrett says he now believes that God knew he needed time off. Not being able to return to Biola was disappointing for him, but it provided a chance to organize his thoughts, relax and discover what is really important to him.

He said it was good for him to get away from the material world and to realize that all he needs are the “essentials plus God.”

Garrett has been on an interesting journey this past year. Now that he finds himself back at Biola, he thanks God, his friends that supported him and kept in contact, and the incredible fans of “Dorm Series.”

Now that Garrett has returned, fans of “Dorm Series” are excited to know that season two has arrived and the first few webisodes can be viewed at youtube.com/dormseries and facebook.com/dormseries. “Dorm Series” can be followed on Tumblr and Twitter.

Written by Mark Nesbitt, Media Relations Intern. For more information, please contact Jenna Bartlo, Media Relations Coordinator, at jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu or via phone at 562.777.4061.