You can apply for a 2012 Pride Foundation Scholarship online until January 31, 2012. Visit our website for guidelines and to apply online.
Did you know that Pride Foundation has awarded nearly $2.5 million to 1,000+ scholars in the Northwest? Many of those scholarship recipients live right here in the Beaver state, and one of them is the fabulous Angela Baxter. I recently had the pleasure of meeting the Oregon State graduate student and let me tell you, she is awesome!
Upon our initial meeting, I was impressed with her poise and passion for the LGBTQ community. She is a recent graduate of Oregon State University, with a Bachelors of Arts in Women’s Studies and Ethnic Studies.
During her time at OSU Angela made huge moves on campus that will leave a lasting impression on students for years to come. Throughout her undergraduate matriculation she served on the Advisory Board for the Queer Resource Center, helping other students find resources and build coalitions across campus.
When I asked her why she felt so compelled to help other students her answer was tied to her own lived experiences growing up in Brookings South Dakota, “When I came out at South Dakota State University, it was difficult, because there wasn’t a lot of support, so I reached out to the community.” After transferring to OSU she knew that she “didn’t want anybody to go through what (she) went through in the Midwest”.
As a graduate student, she continues to make moves at OSU. She is currently working on her Master’s degree and working with administration to create safe spaces for International LGBTQ students, passionately stating that all students need a “safe space where they can be wholly themselves”.
Angela says she has found a safe and welcoming place in Oregon; to her Oregon feels like home. In addition to working for the equality movement, writing her thesis, and teaching classes in the Queer Studies Program she helped to develop, she is most passionate about her role as a mother. As an out Lesbian, Angela hopes her work in the equality movement will allow her two daughters to grow up in a safer, more loving and inclusive community.