Meet Our Scholars
Travis Martz
West Los Angeles College
Political Science and Business
He/Him/His
Community College
LA Dodgers Scholarship
Born and raised in the South, Travis was the poster child of small-town USA. Coming out at 16 in his football loving town, he braced myself for the fight. Because of an unaccepting religious family, he was out of the house by the age of 17, dropped out of school his junior year, and joined the workforce. Without an education he found himself continuously working any job he could take. Depression led to a suicide attempt. Travis woke up to a three day stay on suicide watch and a gurney ride into rehab. He then traveled to California and landed in the streets. After scrounging and saving for months, while sleeping at bus stops, he was in his own apartment for the first time. Losing that apartment and on the streets again as a 31-year-old man was the last straw. He enrolled at West Los Angeles College (WLAC) not knowing what the future held. A year later, he has reinstalled their Queer & Allies Club and was elected as President, serves on the President’s Student Council Advisory, the LACCD Chancellor’s Advisory Board on LGBTQ+ Affairs, is the Chief Justice in ASO, and a PA in the Dream Resource Center. Travis will transfer next year with his Associate’s in Political Science and Business to move forward in his journey to practice civil rights law for LGBTQ+/minority communities. Changes are coming and Travis intends on being the force behind them.