Hear directly from Point Scholars and Alumni.
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. […]
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 […]
Every other year, the Point community comes together for the National Leadership Conference (NLC). As a 2017 Scholar, the 2018 NLC in July was my first! The NLC is a delightful queer-focused time to come together with folks from across the Point family—people who are like-minded in our activism and passionate about bettering the situations […]
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, […]
Though many people have their reservations about 2016, for me, I’ve been able to grow both as a student and budding professional. As someone who holds many marginalized identities, I’ve come up with my own way to describe my experience as a Queer Latinx Woman in STEM: “Angie in STEM.” 2016 has given me the […]
Thanks to Point Foundation, I attended the 3rd National Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM) Conference at Google New York in late October. Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics is a national society dedicated to educating and fostering leadership for LGBTQA communities in the STEM fields. Until recently, I had not been very aware […]