The Point Foundation is offering three new scholarships for gay, lesbian or transgender AU students in honor of alumnus Carlos Enrique Cisneros, a television company president who died last year.
The foundation is the first organization to offer scholarships exclusively for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. Last year it offered one Cisneros scholarship at AU in addition to 24 scholarships at other colleges.
The Cisneros scholarships were created by the Point Foundation in conjunction with Cisneros' friends and family and AU President Benjamin Ladner's office. Cisneros was a member of the AU Board of Trustees and Ladner's personal friend.
"We look for people who are strong and willing to be who they are, people who have achieved amazing things despite being marginalized," said Vance Lancaster, executive director of the Point Foundation.
Many GLBT students are disowned when they come out, and their families cut off any financial assistance, Lancaster said. The scholarships are meant to help these students and create future leaders in the gay community.
"There are so many scholarships for people focusing on other aspects of our society, like humanitarians, libertarians, conservatives, all these folks training the next generations of scholars," said Michelle Marzullo, an AU doctorate student and the 2004 Cisneros scholar. "It's really important with all of these issues going on right now that we have people being trained to really intellectually engage the social issues that affect the GLBT community."
Marzullo's friends shunned her when she came out in high school. Her family kicked her out of the house. Now 33, she has spoken at more than 500 events on homophobia and heterosexism.
"Michelle was just a standout in every area," Lancaster said. "She was honest about who she was in terms of her sexual orientation, and as a result there were negative consequences in her family and community."
Marzullo is working toward a doctorate in anthropology at AU. She is currently studying the congressional debate surrounding the Defense of Marriage Amendment and other public debates over marriage issues.
Already $50,000 in debt from paying for her master's degree, she said she would not be able to get her doctorate without the help of the Point Foundation.
Marzullo receives $20,000 a year from the scholarship. The Cisneros scholarships cover tuition, books, room and board, and living expenses.
Point scholars must make a commitment to maintain a 3.5 grade point average and do a service project in the GLBT community. Scholars also have a mentor.
"A number of our students have been disowned, and the mentor acts as surrogate family," Lancaster said.
Marzullo's mentor is a lawyer who lives in Chicago. She says they talk on the phone and e-mail each other often.
Last semester, after she earned three A's, he sent her his favorite book and a congratulations note. Marzullo says he also helps her on a professional level, helping decipher legal jargon she encounters in her research.
For her service project, Marzullo will interview different couples to find out how the public policy issue of gay marriage has affected them. She said she hopes her research will explain how the gay marriage issue erupted into a "moral panic."
"I'm looking at this in such detail because I really believe that these conversations that happen in Congress and statements made by the president affect people on the most personal level," Marzullo said.
The deadline to apply for the Cisneros scholarship is March 1, but Lancaster said any late applicants should contact the Point Foundation office and send their applications as soon as possible. The deadline has been extended because of publicity issues.
