Hear directly from Point Scholars and Alumni.
Point Foundation helps our scholars develop the leadership skills they need to become leaders in their respective professions, communities, and society. Every year of their funding term, Point Scholars are required to initiate and complete a Community Service Project (CSP) that will positively impact the LGBTQ community. What’s up? My name is Madison Klementyn, but you can call me Maddie. I am […]
Throughout my life, I have always tried to follow my curiosity. I was a Freshman in high school the first time I ventured into the field of scientific research. Accompanying a family friend for the day in his laboratory, I was introduced to his work studying the effects of fresh water algae blooms in Arizona. […]
Six years ago, four friends and I sat at a tall wooden table near the entrance of Darwin’s Pub and waited to see if anyone else would show up. We had just come from the keynote presentation after a full day of conference talks at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology’s annual conference. That […]
It has been repeatedly proven that LGBTQ people face disproportionate rates of poverty, mental health challenges, homelessness, and access to higher education. These challenges impede traditional four-year completion rates and 4.0 GPAs. In STEM (though this is less true in biological and social sciences), greater rates of discrimination and harassment mean LGBTQ students often change […]
Mission: Point Foundation empowers promising LGBTQ students to achieve their full academic and leadership potential – despite the obstacles often put before them – to make a significant impact on society. Point Scholars and Alumni are socially active leaders who are working every day to achieve greater levels of acceptance and respect for all members […]
Growing up in the Midwest as a half-Japanese, closeted tomboy, I definitely didn’t see myself in anyone around my town, let alone anyone in the sciences. The first time I experienced the intersection of science and LGBTQ+ identity was from my high school chemistry professor. He was almost fired for outing and berating a girl […]
At my very first Point Foundation conference in 2014, I had the opportunity to hear Janet Mock speak. She introduced me to the concept of a ‘possibility model’- someone who reveals one possible way of being human in this world to you. After feeling a little lost at my school for the last couple years, […]
It seems that over the last few months, there has been a push for social activism that I have not seen in my lifetime. Admittedly, my age and lack of experience in movements of social change probably plays a role in why I see things the way I do. However, a part of me can’t […]
There are many reasons why I love the movie “Hidden Figures,” a film about the brave and brilliant African-American women that worked at NASA’s Langley Research Center at a time when racial segregation and sexist employment discrimination was part of the texture of everyday life. One of things that film portrays exceptionally well is how […]
I’ve “come out” many times. First, my sexuality, and then years later, my gender identity (and then sexuality again). In my late 20s I also came out, announcing a career change – I was going back to school to pursue a career in the sciences. All of these experiences were different. However, the actions […]