Point Foundation Announces 2021 Flagship Scholarship Recipients

During 20th Anniversary Year, Organization to Award Record Number of Scholarships

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Jun 22, 2021, 11:11 ET

LOS ANGELES, June 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Point Foundation (Point), the nation's largest scholarship granting organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students, announced its 2021 Flagship Scholarship recipients. Since its founding in 2001, Point has invested $43 million in supporting college educations. Each Point scholar receives financial support, access to multiple leadership development programs, mentorship or coaching, and the support of a community of scholars and alumni to help them succeed.

20th Anniversary Logo for Point Foundation

In this, its 20^th anniversary year, 21 new Point Flagship Scholars were selected from a pool of more than 2,000 applicants; they will join 38 current recipients. Over the final two weeks of Pride Month, Point will also welcome 58 students to their Community College Scholarship Program, award 45 BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) Scholarships, and another 60 students will receive Opportunity Grants. Overall, Point plans to award more than 320 scholarships in the 2021-22 academic year ahead.

"We received more than 2000 applications for the Flagship Scholar program this year, and it was one of our most competitive selections ever," said Jorge Valencia, Executive Director and CEO. "We know these scholars will succeed and we're here for them every step of the way. I'm also excited to announce that in the coming weeks we will award more Community College and BIPOC scholarships than ever before – more than doubling the number of students we supported last year."

The 2021 Point Scholars, including their area of study, degree, school, and Named Scholarship (where applicable) are as follows:

Undergraduates

Sofia Arlen, Yale University, Ethics, Politics, and Economics
Morgan Beaven, Arizona State University, Public Service and Public Policy, Wells Fargo Scholarship
Andreas Copes, Temple University, Communication and Journalism Studies
Donnavan Dillon, University of Kansas, Political Science, Alfred A. Cave Scholarship
Manny Faria, Stanford University, Neurobiology, Jeff Ogle & Jeff Stearns Scholarship
Isaac James, University of Texas at Austin, Government, Plan II Honors, and LGBTQ Studies, Patti Sue Mathis Scholarship
Felix Kiene-Gualtieri, New York University, Photography and Imaging, Wells Fargo Scholarship
Jo Lew, Southern Methodist University, Political Science, Public Policy, and Human Rights
Arianna Peró, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Physics and Human Rights, Synchrony Foundation Scholarship
Marc Ridgell, Washington University in St. Louis, African and African American Studies, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, & Sociology
Yvin Shin, Columbia University, Political Science and Neuroscience, Stacy R. Friedman Scholarship
Jenna Smith, Duke University, Political Science, Wells Fargo Scholarship
Erin Wilson, Spelman College, Theoretical Astrophysics, Michael J. Jeffrey and Jeffrey J. Mitchell Scholarship

Graduate School

Davy Deng, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health,
Adriann Dolphin, Harvard University, Business
Jessie Garcia Gutiérrez, University of California, Berkeley, Social Welfare & Public Health, Victoria's Secret Scholarship
Em Kuo, Northwestern University, Business
Kelvin Moore, University of California, San Francisco, Medicine
Sydney Rinehart, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Social Work, Rand Skolnick Endowed Scholarship
Mikiko Thelwell, University of California, Los Angeles, Medicine, Anchor Trust Scholarship
Jamar Williams, Harvard University, Public Policy & Business

This year's scholarship awards are made possible because of the generosity of lead supporters which include (in alphabetical order): Coach Foundation, DTS, FedEx, Lands' End, Katy Perry, MacKenzie Scott, Toyota, Victoria's Secret, Wells Fargo, and more.

About Point Foundation
Point Foundation empowers promising LGBTQ students to achieve their full academic and leadership potential – despite the obstacles often put before them – to make a significant impact on society. Since 2002, Point has awarded more than 400 scholarships, making it the nation's largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students of merit. Point Foundation promotes change through scholarship funding, mentorship, leadership development and community service training. pointfoundation.or g | facebook.com/pointfoundatio n | twitter.com/pointfoundatio n | instagram.com/pointfoundatio n