Jul 04, 2008  |  By: AMY CAVANAUGH  | COMMENTS     

Georgetown University Law student Kelsey Phipps, 28, says her sexual orientation inspired her to pursue a career in public service.

“A lot of folks would say that being LGBT would not have a bearing or impact in what they do everyday, but for me the experience has shaped my desire to be in public service,” she says. “I want to go do things that will help others, and a law degree gives you strong training for dealing with communities that are disenfranchised. It’s the area I think I can make a difference.”

Phipps is the recipient of a Point Foundation scholarship, which provides money to gay students. The foundation recently announced that it is offering funds for 27 undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students to further their studies. Since 2001, the Point Foundation has provided financial support, leadership training and mentoring to gay students who may have faced difficulties or marginalization because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Point Foundation has an annual budget of $3.5 million, of which 90 percent comes from individual donations and 10 percent from corporations and foundations.

Currently there are 90 Point Scholars enrolled in a college or university and 42 alumni who have graduated. Of those, a number have local ties, including two of the 2008 recipients, Phipps and Djamika Smith, who are attending school in the area.

Smith, 17, begins her studies in graphic design at the Maryland Institute College of Art this fall. She was born in Indonesia and moved to the U.S. when she was 7. She currently lives in Oregon.

“Growing up [in Indonesia] taught me about different cultures and lifestyles,” Smith says, “which carries over to being bisexual. People are the same no matter where they come from and what their sexual orientation is.”

She adds that because she is bisexual and bicultural, “I don’t think I fully can fit into one stereotype. People don’t think I’m Indonesian, since I’m half, and people think because I’m bisexual, I’m not really gay. It has been difficult for me.”

She no longer speaks to her father. Despite familial hardship (or perhaps because of it), she started a gay-straight alliance at her high school.

“I started the gay-straight alliance since there were some problems at my school with comments and homophobic remarks,” she says. “I tried to combat that by talking about it on campus.”

PHIPPS HAS ALSO been giving back, serving as the first woman co-chair of the Gay, Lesbian, and Allies Senate Staff (GLASS) Caucus. She works in Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) office, and on the caucus “we work on visibility issues, making sure the Senate is a comfortable place for staffers to be out, and that staff is aware of issues affecting the community,” Phipps says.

It was a long road for Smith and Phipps to receive their awards. Jorge Valencia, executive director and CEO of the Point Foundation, says the application process is rigorous and highly competitive.

“We started this year with 3,700 individuals going through the application process, and we had 1,400 completed applications,” he says. “We did pre-selections and pared it to 250. Then we cut it to 75 and did phone interviews, before doing a final face-to-face interview with 38 of them. We selected 27 out of 1,400 to receive scholarships.”

The 27 winners receive an average of $13,200, but Valencia notes, “the amount scholars are given varies based on what their needs are in any year. The Point Foundation is the last element to fulfill their educational dream, and it can cover tuition or other needs.”

Criteria for receiving an award includes, “academic excellence, leadership, community involvement in society as a whole and in schools,” says Valencia. “We look for experience in leadership roles in the LGBT community, and we look for financial and/or emotional need.”

Some of those emotional needs are the result of applicants being cut off from family after coming out. Look no further than Maya Marcel-Keyes, daughter of former Illinois Senate and presidential candidate Alan Keyes. After coming out and being thrown out of her parents’ house, Maya applied for and received money from the Point Foundation.

Maya, however, did not go on to become a Point Scholar. In an e-mail from a Point Foundation spokesperson, it was revealed that “due to some very personal circumstances she did not immediately enter/stay in school at that time. Hence she was not ...