Congratulations to the 2020 PFLAG SDC Scholarship Recipients!
Mary Wagner Memorial Scholarship: Jonathan Limon
Bio: Jonathan was born and raised in the South Bay area of San Diego where he currently resides. He holds a degree in nursing from San Francisco State University and will be pursuing a Master’s in Higher Education Leadership at the University of San Diego this fall. Jonathan is currently serving as a Registered Nurse on the front lines of this pandemic. He has a passion for increasing access to higher education and working with underserved populations.
John Bessemer Memorial Scholarship: Christopher Harrop
Bio: My name is Chris Harrop, and I received my degree in International Business and Spanish at the University of San Diego. Since graduating in 2018, I’ve spent two years working for a national mortgage company as a Human Resources Data and Systems Analyst. However, I couldn’t keep myself away from the higher education system for long. I’m thrilled to be joining Harvard’s Graduate School of Education this fall, pursuing my Master’s in Higher Education. My ultimate goal is to empower colleges and universities to better leverage their student data to improve outcomes for diverse students, especially those within the LGBTQ+ community.
Rob Benson Memorial Scholarship: G Trupp
Bio: G Trupp (they/them) is a Master’s Student studying Library Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. They received their BA in Linguistics and Languages from Swarthmore College. G is passionate about intersectional social justice in library and archival spaces, and is currently the Library Assistant at La Jolla Country Day School, as well as one of the co-advisors for their LGBTQ+ group, Spectrum.
Daniel J. Ferbal Memorial Scholarship: Patrick Loehr
Bio: Patrick is currently studying medicine at the University of California, San Diego. As an undergraduate at Pomona College, he studied Spanish Literature and Art History. After graduating, he moved to Madrid on a Fulbright scholarship to study mudéjar architecture and teach literature at a public high school with a bilingual curriculum. He subsequently moved to Paris to work in cultural heritage protection at UNESCO, and then to New York City, where he worked for three years in film and television production and supplemented his time tutoring, coaching after-school debate, and volunteering at an LGBT community center.
Stephen G. Bowersox Memorial Scholarship: Jelani Lizárraga
Bio: My name is Jelani Lizárraga. Some of my favorite hobbies are cooking, dancing, and creating new memories with my friends and family. I was 13 when I moved schools to Hoover High School. I started from the bottom at Hoover with low grades and no friends. Luckily, with the help of a fantastic program at school, I was able to not only improve my classes but also get out of my comfort zone socially. I developed my social skills, and in my sophomore year, I decided to come out as gay. Now I’m graduating high school at the top of my class. I will be attending UCSD and majoring in NanoEngineering, this fall.
Raytheon STEM Scholarship: Evelyn Anderson
Bio: My name is Evelyn Anderson and I am a senior at El Capitan High School. I love to run and am on my school’s varsity cross country and track and field team. Outside of school, I like hiking, camping, reading, and doing calligraphy and hand lettering art. In the fall, I will be attending Harvey Mudd College and plan to major jointly in mathematics and physics.
Kendall Family Memorial Scholarship: Ángel Gonzalez
Bio: Ángel Gonzalez is a second year doctoral candidate at San Diego State University in their Ed.D in Community College Leadership. Their research agenda focuses on 1) conditions, experiences, and outcomes in community colleges for minoritized students with an emphasis on LGBTQ+ and Latinx students; 2) Latinx professionals identity development at the intersections of queerness and latinidad; 3) racial equity policy implementation. His work is guided by his own narrative as a first generation, queer, Latinx student from South East Los Angeles. Ángel has worked across post-secondary education institutions in an array of functional areas supporting students’ success. He is proud to be a queer educator who aims to magnify the queer/trans* community voice in research and practice.
Qualcomm Merit/STEM Scholarship: Christina W
Bio: Christina is a graduating senior who is thrilled to head to the University of Pennsylvania in the fall! She is passionate about all things STEM and politics, and especially their intersection in the realm of healthcare policy. She has furthered her interests by participating in neuroscience research at Boston University and by working with hospitalized neurodegenerative patients through Palomar Health’s Pathmaker Internship. She plans to explore the multiple facets of health insurance and healthcare delivery through a double-major in Neuroscience and Economics. Christina dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon one day. Above all, Christina is beyond grateful for the opportunities provided by the PFLAG’s San Diego County Chapter and is excited to see what the future holds!
Qualcomm Merit/STEM Scholarship: Carissa Young
Bio: Carissa (she/her/hers) is an eighteen year-old high school senior pursuing a career in Neuroscience. She enjoys composing and playing music, learning languages, running, coding, and painting in her free time. She hopes to one day work with Doctors Without Borders in the future, as well we research neurological diseases such as Dementia and Alzhiemer’s.
Martha Lynne Austin Memorial Scholarship: Madeline Garrett
Bio: Madeline Garrett (she/her) is eighteen years old and has lived in La Mesa, California for her whole life. There have been times in her life that it was not a sure thing that she would graduate from high school at all, so being recognized in this way is an especially huge acknowledgement. Madeline is graduating from Grossmont Middle College High School with over a year of college credits completed before graduation. After the pandemic passes, Maddie is working to transfer to UC Davis to study botany and mycology in the hopes of working to improve the environment for future generations.
PFLAG San Diego County Merit Scholarship: Kai Catapang
Bio: Hi, My name is Kai! I have been on the Mission Vista High School speech and debate team for four years and I helped create my school’s first home economics club. Outside the classroom, I enjoy playing tennis and volleyball with my family and friends. This fall, I hope to major in economics at UCSD and hopefully pursue a career in government.
We Believe in You Award: Athina Reyes
Bio: Athina Reyes (King) has been different since she was three. Realizing at a young age she was gay, and being bullied through elementary and middle school because of it was not easy. As hard as it was, she now feels proud of being who she is. Through her hardships and heart breaks, she has made her way. A quote that Athina lives by is, “If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” -Dolly Parton. Athina said, “I’ve been through a lot and I’m happy. I have that rainbow now. And it’s pretty long and strong. I like who I am. If I’m happy, then no one can rain on me.”