Meet Our Scholars
Shay Mattison
Broward College
Architecture
She/They
Community College
Broward LEADS Scholarship
Shanette (Shay) grew up in Miramar, Florida a child of Jamaican immigrants. As a child, it was crucial for her and her siblings to regularly attend church and be very involved in the Christian faith. However, in middle school, Shay began to become aware of her sexuality. Later, privately classifying herself as bisexual, Shay continued to attend church while struggling with her sense of faith and self-identity. As a way to alleviate her struggles, Shay found solace in writing poetry. So, in her sophomore year of high school, she joined her school’s poetry club where she eventually became Secretary of the Spoken Dreams Poetry Club at Mcfatter Technical High School. The poetry club went to competition at “Louder than a Bomb” Florida where they performed a group piece bringing awareness to domestic violence and the victims that took them to the semifinals. Her plan after completing her time at Broward College- where she is currently pursuing her Associate of Arts in Architecture- is to transfer to Florida International University to continue her education and obtain her Master of Architecture. Along the way, she would also like to explore the field of construction management to fulfill her ultimate goal of becoming both an architect and a general contractor. As a new member of her college’s Gay-Straight Alliance, Shay intends to deepen her connections with the LGBTQ community and become a proud advocate.