Hear directly from Point Scholars and Alumni.
Picture this: It is September 6, 2018. Following a whirlwind of events, I’ve just landed in Los Angeles to attend a weekend conference with fellow scholarship recipients. I’m sitting in a room with over a dozen other LGBTQ+ community college students who have begun hurriedly getting to know each other and laughing. I am among […]
It had been 3 years since I had returned to Ohio University to finish my undergraduate music degree, and almost everything had changed. Most of my colleagues had graduated and went on to start their careers or continue their education; I had never felt so vulnerable and alone as I did walking into the Ohio […]
I just completed my first semester of law school and yes, Elle Woods, it was hard. Prior to law school, I taught legal education to at-risk youth in non-traditional schools and juvenile justice centers throughout the Bay Area. I also monitored conditions of confinement in California prisons and jails. I have had the unique opportunity […]
Many trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people often have to weigh the risks that can be associated with using gendered restrooms and taking care of our basic needs if there are no gender neutral alternatives nearby. We must decide if we feel comfortable enough to even choose one gendered option or another, and evaluate if […]
I did not fully understand the idea of home until I stepped foot into the Pride House, my school’s official queer student housing, when I was 19. I dragged my suitcase into a small room under the stairs. I’ve lived in places longer — my house in New York was “home” for 18 years until […]
Rosie from Virginia asked: “What social activities can I host in my community to combat homophobia?” HSBC Point Scholar Lucas Dickerson responded: To battle homophobia, it’s best to start small and with love. In my case, having an area full of homophobia has a dire lack of community for those who may feel […]
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. […]
Teaching: Avoiding Bias. Your Classroom: Optional Equity Training. Diversity Matters. And those are training titles to be truly grateful for — it is often the best it gets at this time of year. It’s the beginning of the semester at colleges and universities across the country, which also means a whole new class of teaching […]
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 […]
On the evening of October 13, 2018, I gave a speech in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. The room was packed with nearly hundreds of LGBTQ professionals, entertainers, writers, and dignitaries whose eyes and ears were transfixed on me. With clammy hands gripping the well-lit podium, I looked into […]