Hear directly from Point Scholars and Alumni.
For my community service project this year, I chose to compile sexual health resources that were specifically made with LGBTQ youth in mind. It felt like something that would be relatively easy to complete in my free time between my course load, job, activism work, and other on-campus commitments, as well as something that would […]
My medical school’s first year curriculum dedicates a single hour-long small-group discussion to explore how one should conduct a medical interview with LGBTQ individuals. While many of my classmates had good experiences, I did not. I will spare you the details, but the worst of it was being told by my small-group leader (let’s […]
“What do you think is the biggest barrier to viral suppression?” “Stigma.” I scribbled this down on my clipboard. It was my fifth interview with care providers at AIDS Project East Bay (APEB), and the fifth time that stigma had come up as a major barrier to viral suppression for people living with HIV. At […]
Since the start of this semester, I have been interning at the North Carolina AIDS Action Network (NCAAN). Thanks to an Elton John AIDS Foundation internship secured by Point Foundation, I can assist NCAAN without a cost to this nonprofit organization. After accepting my sexuality as a gay man, one of my […]
Recently, I took my grandmother out to lunch. It was a beautiful day, and there was a restaurant less than half of a mile away from her assisted living facility in Northern Virginia. She may be 84 and have Alzheimer’s disease, but she still has a vibrant personality and is in great physical shape. I […]
Thanks to the help of a few Point alums, I was published in the Advocate last September with an opinion piece that I wrote for Bisexual Awareness Week. The piece was about an issue that is rarely discussed in the LGBTQ community: sexual violence against bisexual women. Bisexual women are one of the highest risk […]
by Point Scholar Shayle Matsuda Last year, 2015, was a big year. I defended my biology masters’ thesis, became a Point Scholar, and packed up and moved to a tiny island in the middle of the ocean to start my Ph.D. January 2016 marked my second year on testosterone, and as I prepare to dive […]
Though born in the far northern realm of Maine, I was an early transplant to the South. My family settled in Georgia when I was four years old, and my entire education has taken place here: kindergarten through high school, then on to college, and now medical school. I received a fantastic education, though not […]
Point Foundation is honored to partner with the Elton John AIDS Foundation to provide internships for qualified scholars. Our scholars work with HIV/AIDS related non-profits in their communities to end HIV/AIDS through education, research, and more. Today, in honor of World AIDS Day, some of our EJAF Interns describe their internships. Ibrahim Vicks – The Attic […]
Last week, thousands of people watched in horror as School Resource Officer Ben Fields violently threw Spring Valley High School student Shakara from her desk before arresting her. As a former public school teacher, I was horrified by what I saw, but I was even more ashamed. Ashamed that we have a public school system […]
