2005 POINT SCHOLARS

Lindsay Higgins

Tulane University Medical School

Lindsay Higgins was raised in a suburb of Chicago, where she stayed in the closet until her junior year of high school. At this time, Lindsay came out as her school’s only out lesbian, and as a result, Lindsay’s parents sent her to over a dozen different physicians and psychologists, against her will, in search of a cure to her lesbianism. For the remaining two years of high school, Lindsay lived under total house arrest and was denied access to a telephone, the internet, and television. Despite her own problems at home, Lindsay felt the need to reach out and help other LGBT youth in her community, which led her to found her community’s first Gay/Straight Alliance. On her 18th birthday, Lindsay left home and has put herself through college, working 40-50 hours per week at times, while serving as a LGBT campus leader and maintaining honors status. The humiliation and abuse that she endured as a LGBT youth continues to inspire Lindsay to work for a better future for LGBT people. As Lindsay will now be attending medical school, she will continue her work for the LGBT community on the healthcare front.

In Lindsay's own words: “As an undergraduate, I had to work 40-50 hours per week to support myself. However, this is not a possibility during the rigors of a medical school curriculum. Because of the Point Foundation, I now have the opportunity to fulfill my dream of becoming a physician.”