This scholarship was created by Steve Parsons in 2013 to support LGBTQ-identified students with learning disabilities.
About the Creator:
Steve Parsons created this scholarship in order to honor nine generations of West Virginia family members named Jabez. Specifically, Steve is eager to provide support for LGBTQ students with learning disabilities, as he feels a deep emotional connection with this population. As someone with severe dyslexia and a background of poor education, Steve did not learn to read until the age of 34.
His inability to read and the emotional abuse he endured as a result of his dyslexia caused him great suffering and led him to eventually become “deeply dysfunctional.” In an effort to address the maltreatment of people with learning disabilities, Steve established this scholarship “…to relieve the pain and suffering of those individuals without hope nor the means for education & self-esteem.”
Steven’s middle name, Jabez (one who brings pain), is an old Hebrew name that is given to a baby that causes its mother great pain at birth. Out of a deep-seeded belief that his life, and the lives of the nine generations before him, have meant more than merely pain, Steve has named this scholarship “Jabez Legacy” in order to reclaim the meaning of Jabez to mean “…one who relieves suffering.”
Steve Parsons lives in Palm Springs, California.
Steve Parsons celebrating his graduation