My name is Vasco Vidal (they/them), and I’m an incoming freshman at Stanford University. I’m pursuing a B.S. in Symbolic Systems (Learning Concentration) and an M.S. in Learning Design and Technology to one day create a mastery-based educational model that empowers students with disabilities.

Growing up non-binary in Peru, a conservative country, pushed me to advocate for the rights of LGBTQ+ youth — I became the precursor of an educational project that aimed to create safe and supportive learning environments for Queer students in Latin America, worked as a voice actor for a video-based learning program to teach sexual violence prevention and other initiatives to support LGBTQ+ rights. At Stanford, I will continue to work for the community; this time, I will seek ways to fight legislation that seeks to ban gender-affirming care for minors.

Receiving the Markowski-Leach Scholarship is a significant milestone for me. It provides me with the resources to continue advocating for the rights of LGBTQ+ youth, especially trans youth, who face ongoing attacks across the United States. My goal is to be an example for queer youth and create the greatest positive impact so that one day any Queer student can safely share their identity with the world, knowing they will be surrounded by love and support.

I’m Stanley and I’m a Junior at Stanford studying Economics. I’m originally from South Bend, IN, where my parents moved as refugees.  From a young age, I’ve been eager to use business and entrepreneurship as a means for good and advocating for communities close to my heart.  This year, I am proud to be the only undergraduate serving on the Stanford LGBTQ+ Alumni board, in addition to founding Stanford Pride, an undergraduate club at Stanford.  As current president of the Stanford Pride club, I plan LGBTQ+ related events, inform campus programming and resources, and ensure a supportive community for all, including allies.  I also serve as a student ambassador for Out for Undergrad, an organization devoted to empowering LGBTQ+ individuals in the business, engineering, and technology disciplines.  Receiving the Markowski-Leach Scholarship is about joining a community of people who are committed to creating a world that is inclusive, fair, and supportive — especially for the LGBTQ+ community.  I seek to use this opportunity to honor the legacy of Jim Leach and Tom Markowski and apply my talents to increase society’s awareness of the LGBTQ+ community.

Alicia Naylor Guerrero (she/her/ella) is a third-year cognitive science student at UC Berkeley. As a mixed-race Trans-latina, being able to connect her cultural heritage and queer life experiences has been integral to understanding cognitive science, a field that bridges social and biological sciences. She is grateful to the queer communities in the San Francisco Bay Area that have supported her to where she is today, and is dedicated to forming healthy and affirming queer and trans communities in all the spaces she inhabits. In addition to her studies, she works as a Residential Assistant at the UNITY Theme Program for LGBTQ+ students at UC Berkeley and has grown in this position as a role model and community member, and provides support for new generations of queer learners through organizing events and fostering intentionality, respect, and safe exploration for her residents and the community. This scholarship, to Alicia, means that she can continue pursuing her education and passion for understanding and supporting communities both through her studies and LGBTQ+ encouragement and support.

My name is Gilda Temaj Marroquin, I was born and raised in the outskirts of Guatemala, (Central America), and immigrated to the United States as an unaccompanied minor at age 16. Currently, I am a senior at UC Berkeley, pursuing an Ethnic Studies major. I am proud to be a recipient of the Markowski-Leach Scholarship. When I decided to “come out” to my family, I was terrified. There were not openly LGBTQ+ people where I grew up. While I was scared to tell my family my truth, I wanted to be honest with them about my sexuality. With all the courage I had, I told them I was gay. Initially, my parents were upset, disappointed, and confused. Their worst fear about me was confirmed and the rumors were true. Despite initial resistance and contempt, little by little, I have altered my family’s conception of gender roles, cultural expectations, and societal norms in a significant and permanent way. My mission in life is to work toward educating and uplifting my LGBTQ+ and Hispanic communities: by connecting them to resources, support, mentorship, and legal assistance, so they too, can have the opportunity to build a better quality of life. The Markowski-Leach Scholarship will help me complete my undergraduate degree and pursue a Master’s in Social Work, so I can continue to enhance human well-being and help people meet their needs.

I am honored to be a Markowski-Leach Scholarship recipient for my MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Prior to pursuing my MBA, I obtained an MSc in Social Science of the Internet from the University of Oxford and a BA in Financial Economics & Hispanic Studies from Columbia University. I am deeply committed to continuing to drive social change and impact for the queer community while at Stanford and beyond. Prior to graduate school, I served on MuleSoft’s Global Diversity Council and Salesforce LGBTQIA+ employee resource group’s President’s Council. These platforms have given me the opportunity to champion queer issues in the corporate world, combat discrimination and microaggressions in the workplace, and promote a more inclusive environment for everyone.  Outside of work, I was a mentor with akt (formerly The Albert Kennedy Trust), where I supported queer and trans youth facing homelessness.  In addition, I am passionate about furthering queer and racial representation in film and media, which is why I am also a board member of Frameline, the largest queer film festival in the world.

My name is Elina-Alem Kent but I go by Alem as it is my Crimean Tatar name.

I am grateful to receive the Markowski-Leach scholarship because it will help me cover the costs of attending Stanford’s masters in documentary film and video. There, I will gain incredible skills and opportunities to grow as a documentary filmmaker.

I have been living in Kyiv, Ukraine since 2019. I started as a journalist focusing on the underground cultural scenes and human rights with the queer and indigenous Crimean Tatar communities, important to me as a queer Crimean Tatar-American myself.

My calling is documentary storytelling through activism and art. I now mainly work with documentary photography, film, theatre, exhibits, and creative protests.

I am fighting on the informational and cultural frontlines in this war. I don’t want the world to think about Ukrainians through the lens of trauma and violence, but instead be remembered for their resilience, bravery, and creativity.

The existence of Crimean Tatars debunks Russia’s false imperial narrative, and is why the occupier is systemically isolating and killing the indigenous community. My future films that will focus and share Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian stories will contribute to the decolonizing of Ukraine and Crimea against Russia.

I would like my work to reveal new realities and perspectives to further understanding, inspiration, and solidarity between US communities and Ukraine.

My name is Ky Albert (she/her), and I am entering the second year of my Masters of Science in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling at San Francisco State University. I am honored to receive the Markoswki-Leach scholarship in support of my journey towards becoming a queer- and gender-affirming therapist. I received my B.A. with Honors in Sociology and Gender & Sexuality Studies from Brown University, where I dedicated my studies and extracurricular work towards supporting LGBTQ young people. After graduating, I worked as a digital strategist and consultant for organizations including the ACLU of California, AFSCME, and the National Center for Transgender Equality. As a proud transgender woman, I chose to pivot my career and pursue clinical training to reduce the mental health treatment gap for my community. In addition to coursework, I spent the past year working as a therapy intern at Abraham Lincoln High School, providing case management, individual, and group therapy to trans and gender non-conforming teens. This year, I will continue my studies and work as a behavioral health intern at San Francisco Community Health Center. There, I will provide therapy and case management services to transgender transitional age youth and adults, as well as San Franciscans living with HIV and/or experiencing homelessness. After graduating, I plan to pursue licensure as a marriage and family therapist and enter the workforce as a clinician and therapist who can competently and humbly serve the diverse LGBTQ communities that call the Bay Area home.

Chloe Amarilla is a rising 3L at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. As the first in her family to go to college and now law school, she is fully aware of how impactful scholarships like these make her dreams possible. Chloe has been active in the LGBTQ+ community, in and outside her academic settings. She has also worked on building community and creating coordination across identities, as she also comes from an immigrant and Latin family. After law school, she hopes to pursue tax law at a firm while still focusing on supporting those from her community. She is immensely grateful for this scholarship and for the foundation’s focus on the LGBTQ+ leaders of tomorrow.

My name is Jack Donahue (he/they), and I am a rising 2L at Berkeley Law School. As a queer and disabled survivor of abuse from a welfare-class background, I am a proud recipient of the 2022 Markowski-Leach Scholarship. I graduated cum laude from Duke University in 2020 with a major in philosophy and political science, as well as minors in global health and sexuality studies. In undergrad, I performed various types of equity-based research, diversified campus programming, acted as a Discussion Leader with Duke’s Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, and had my queer activism featured in The Washington Post and The Atlantic.

At Berkeley Law, I am an Executive Editor of the Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law and Justice, Student Leader of Berkeley’s Resistance Against Interpersonal Violence (BRAIV), and Student Leader of the Survivor Advocacy Project, a pro bono program building generations of lawyers dedicated to preventing and combatting sexual violence. With SAP, my co-leader and I selected two projects for this academic year with one driving policy change for incarcerated survivors in Massachusetts and another drafting legislation as a solution to the criminalization of sex work in California. I plan for these scholarship funds to help in the furtherance of my education, mentorship of queer youth, and social impact career.

I would like to thank the scholarship committee and express my gratitude for the kindness and forethought of Tom Markowski and Jim Leach. Their benevolence has surely made differences in the lives of many queer youth in higher education and beyond.

My name is Annie Gorden (she/her), and I’m a 3L at UC Hastings studying Social Justice Lawyering. Prior to law school I received my B.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies from UC Berkeley, then received my M.A. in Peace and Justice Studies from the University of San Diego. I worked on issues of violent conflict, global poverty, and systems of oppression, and examined how collective social action can shift power and challenge injustice. I then worked for four years supporting refugees and asylum seekers pursuing immigration relief and deportation defense before coming to law school. My work is focused on facilitating deep, transformative change at the intersection of queer, racial, economic, and disability justice. I am so honored to receive the Markowski-Leach Scholarship.

I am very excited to be a Markowski-Leach scholar awarded for my pursuit of a Masters in Business Administration at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. At Stanford I study social change and impact and I am a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. I am also a joint degree candidate for a Juris Doctor at Harvard Law School. Prior to graduate school, I worked with a variety of organizations to further LGBTQIA+ causes, including supporting to found my high school’s GSA, launching the Alliance conference which was the first ever global convening of LGBTQIA+ business and government leaders, helping to make the Harvard Alumni Association more inclusive on belonging globally, leading the UN Nairobi’s day of authenticity, advising youth homeless shelters on LGBTQIA+ youth homelessness issues and documentation, and more. This scholarship, to me, marks an appreciation of the work I have done in graduate school and prior to advance the LGBTQIA+ community and a recognition of the work that is yet to be done as a consequence of the privilege our degree affords us.

Aian (they/them) is a queer non-binary mixed race Pilipinx person from Southern California. Aian’s politics have been informed by their experiences growing up in a conservative, religious, and abusive household, and their political journey after leaving to create a chosen family and advocate for queer communities. Their passion for social justice started at Santa Ana College and continued after transferring to UC Riverside where they received their Bachelor’s in Ethnic Studies. They have been involved with different non-profit and identity-based spaces around issues such as college access, food justice, harm reduction practices, workers’ justice, and more. Aian has been a youth organizer with AYPAL: Building API Community Power where they uplift the leadership of high school youth in Oakland through ethnic studies, political education, identity development, art activism, and more. They started a college access program and LGBTQ+ youth program which they are excited to continue developing as they transition to part-time while back in school. Aian is starting a Master’s in Social Welfare (MSW) with a specialization in Strengthening Children, Youth and Families (SCYF) at UC Berkeley this fall of 2022. They are honored to receive this scholarship and will continue to pay it forward in their professional journey to better serve young people, LGBTQ+ individuals, and communities of color.

My name is Peter, and I am an undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley. I study public health with the goal of becoming a physician so that I can serve underserved communities, including the LGBTQ+ community. I am thrilled, honored, and humbled to be a recipient of the Markowski-Leach scholarship and to continue the spirit of service that Mr. Tom Markowski and Mr. Jim Leach practiced and valued. Receiving this scholarship connects me to the larger experiences and struggle of the LGBTQ+ community for greater justice and equity. With the financial support of the Markowski-Leach Scholarship, I’ll be able to dive more deeply into my studies and community work to become an effective physician advocate.

My name is Danny Pimentel (he/him) and I am currently a PhD candidate at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. My work focuses on helping students evaluate the credibility of scientific information that they encounter online and supporting science teachers with integrating science media literacy into their classes. Born and raised in the Greater Boston Area, I graduated from Boston College in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in music. I graduated from Boston College again one year later with a master’s degree in secondary education. In the years that followed, I worked as a middle school science teacher and then a high school chemistry teacher in Brooklyn, NY. Along the way, I also got certified in special education. As a high school teacher, I served as a founding co-advisor to Spectrum, a student-run organization that sought to provide a safe space for LGBTQ students and to educate our larger school community about LGBTQ issues. In this role, I oversaw field trips to the LGBT Center in New York, designed workshops to help parents support their LGBTQ children, and I co-led book clubs exploring LGBT topics. Now, as an education researcher and teacher educator, I am intentional about making my queer identity known to increase the visibility of queer individuals in science and science education. I am honored to be a recipient of the Markowski-Leach Scholarship and to be recognized as an emerging leader in the LGBTQ community, which I care about deeply.

My name is Jack Weller (he/him) and I’m a rising 3L at Stanford Law School. I am passionate about voting rights, fair redistricting, and strengthening the electoral system by ensuring that everyone’s votes count equally. Prior to law school I worked at a nonprofit government watchdog group and in electoral politics. I’m very honored to have been selected for this year’s Markowski-Leach cohort and I’m proud to join a community dedicated to advancing LGBTQ+ rights.

My name is Matthew “Matta” Haide Zheng (they/them and he/him pronouns), and I am a rising final-year undergraduate at Stanford University. I am currently double majoring in Political Science and Human Biology with Honors in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. My undergraduate studies revolve around a self-designed academic specialization in the political economy of social-spiritual medicine. In high school, I chaired the student council and LGBTQ+ student advocacy council at UWC Atlantic College in Wales and led campus-wide reforms towards LGBTQIA+ inclusion and justice. At Stanford, I am the creator of Refuge, an interfaith LGBTQ+ community organization. Outside of academics and Refuge, I am a research assistant at The PRIDE Study and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. In the future, I hope to pursue an MD/MDiv to fulfill my dream of becoming a palliative care physician and Buddhist priest. Receiving the Markowski-Leach Scholarship is an immense honor and humbling privilege, reaffirming my belief that queer community is a form of providence, and that my life’s work is to serve this community.

I am also humbled by the legacies of Mr. Markowski and Mr. Leach in their life wishes to support LGBTQ+ advancement. The more I learn about my LGBTQ+ history, the more I appreciate and am in awe of the giants whose shoulders we young LGBTQ+ people stand on.

My name is Gabby Sergi and I am a rising 3L at UC Hastings. I am incredibly humbled to receive this scholarship and recognize how fortunate I am to have been given the opportunity to help change the face of the legal profession. Only about 4% of lawyers identify as LGBT+ and 2% identify as Latina. This scholarship will help me finish law school and pursue a career as a public interest advocate.

Prior to law school, I graduated with honors from the University of San Francisco majoring in Sociology with a concentration in Criminology, Law and Society. Post-graduation, I educated at-risk and system-involved juvenile justice youth about their rights and the consequences of crime with FLY in Oakland. Also, I served as a CASA and was a Litigation Assistant for the Prison Law Office where I monitored conditions of confinement in California prisons and jails.

As an openly queer first-generation Salvadoran and child of a formerly incarcerated parent, I bring a unique perspective to the legal field, especially criminal justice work. I’ve been able to connect and advocate for minority communities behind bars, especially the LGBT+ community, by using the various parts of my own identity and story.

My name is Ron Holt. I am a board-certified psychiatrist, speaker, and author. In addition to earning my MA in sexuality at San Francisco State University, I am a practicing psychiatrist in SFSU’s student health services. My LGBTQ+ advocacy began 20 years ago when I started returning to the Midwest to volunteer present on various queer related topics, including suicide reduction, how to come out safely, homophobia, and how to support LGBTQ+ people. These presentations have expanded nationwide. I am now the gay role model I wished I had when I was young and struggling with my identity. In 2008, I broadened my presentations to include medical schools and physician audiences. These medical presentations focus on helping medical providers establish LGBTQ+ affirmative clinical environments and how to provide culturally competent care. I created a website (http://drronholt.com) that is full of free resources and information. I am very honored to be a Markowski-Leach Scholarship recipient. I feel the purpose of the scholarship aligns with my soul’s goal: to help those struggling with low self-esteem, low self-worth, and self-acceptance through my advocacy; and to have a profound impact on society and its acceptance and support of the queer community. My master’s thesis is entitled “The Impact of Rural Geography on Sexual Identity.” Completing this master’s degree will open doors to performing research on ways to support queer youth and give me a more profound knowledge base to become a more vigorous advocate, queer leader, speaker, educator, writer, mentor, and psychiatrist.

My name is Breanna D Chacon and I am currently studying for my undergraduate degree in sociology at the University of California Berkeley.  I am honored and humbled to be the recipient of the Markowski-Leach scholarship.  Receiving this scholarship gives me hope for a well-educated, safe, and inclusively diverse future.  In the coming semester, I am joining a leadership group called Bear closet that assists youth within the LGBTQIA+ community in their coming out story by offering support, encouragement, and personal experiences.  I hope this journey will continue to prove that I am a good role model for my community through the sharing of my story, my presentation, and efforts as a member of the community.

Emiliano Lemus Hufstedler is a medical student in the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program, health disparities researcher, and trainer on transgender-affirming healthcare. After completing a bachelor’s degree in Biochemical Studies at Harvard College, Emiliano worked for a decade as a community organizer, serving as founding director of Erósfera, Center for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Puebla, Mexico, and co-director of Bluestockings Activist Center in NYC. Their work in medical school has included coordinating a free clinic for street-based youth and LGBTQ patients, serving as the School of Medicine Liaison to the UCSF LGBTQ Advisory Council, and mentoring LGBTQ premed students and other students from backgrounds that are underrepresented in medicine. Their recent research has explored and advocated for the health needs of transgender youth experiencing homelessness in the Bay Area. Emiliano is currently in their final year of medical school at UCSF, getting ready to go into residency in Family Medicine. They intend to practice community-based integrative primary care for LGBTQ community and Spanish-speaking Latinx immigrant communities. Emiliano is trans, proudly Chicano, a parent to five chickens and a poodle, and they love living in Oakland.

My name is Hezi Cohen and I’m an admitted student to the UC Berkeley Haas MBA Program.  I grew up in Tel Aviv, Israel, and then in Kadima, a small town north of Tel Aviv.  For the last 4 years, I had the privilege to serve as an economist at the Budget Department of the Israeli Ministry of Finance, where I had the opportunity to build and manage the budgets of 15 ministries and agencies, including the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  I also led digital transformation projects to improve public services and introduce innovation to the public sector.  During my time in the public sector, I co-founded the “LGBTQ in the Civil Service” Community for LGBTQ civil servants.

I studied Philosophy, Economics and Political Science (PEP) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and after graduation, I worked as a financial analyst.  Prior to my studies, I served as a combat soldier and platoon sergeant at the Golani Infantry Brigade of the Israeli Defense Force.

Outside of work, I volunteered for more than 3 years in IGY – the Israeli Gay Youth Organization – and instructed and managed LGBTQ teen groups.

It is a great honor to receive the Markowski-Leach Scholarship.  I feel grateful to Tom and Jim, and their generation, who paved the way for my freedom.  I am sure that this support will empower me to push my LGBTQ activism further, make a better future for our community, and avail disadvantaged groups of wider access to equal opportunities and prosperity.

Honored doesn’t begin to describe how it feels to be part of the incredible cadre of queer and trans people receiving the Markowski-Leach Scholarship.  I come from humble first-generation roots in Queens, New York.  As a filmmaker and scholar, I advocate for ever-stronger inclusion of queer and trans voices in media.  My award-winning work in film and television has been broadcast internationally on PBS, Independent Lens, Fuse, ITV, and has screened in festivals and cultural institutions nationwide, including DOC NYC, Big Sky, IFFBoston, SXSW Edu, the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of the American Indian, and The Jewish Museum.  My projects have received support from ITVS, If/Then Shorts, and the Tribeca Film Institute, and are currently streaming on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Kanopy, among others.  This body of work manifests my interests in performance as archive, queer cinema, and utopian hermeneutics.  In addition to my work as a filmmaker and scholar, I am also the Managing Editor of Don’t Give Up Your Gay Job, a digital publication documenting the work that has existed, emerged, shifted and will continue shifting society toward a queer utopia.  Your Gay Job celebrates and learns from people who are imagining what the future may look like through their nine-to-fives.  The publication features interviews with top queer and trans thinkers and doers at places like Netflix, Glassdoor, Bonobos, Daylight, Hinge, and Stanford University’s School of Medicine, among others.

My name is Finn. I’m a student at the UCSF School of Nursing, working towards a MS in advanced public health nursing. I got an MA at San Francisco State University in geography in 2017, where my research focused on the impact of gentrification in San Francisco on people living with HIV. I decided to become a nurse to get a balance of research and direct service: focus is on providing health care and advocacy to unhoused people in the Bay Area, and public health nursing allows me to stay in touch with the reality on the streets while also working on research and policy advocacy to address root causes of homelessness. As a young trans person, I was fortunate to have mentorship from elders in my community who were HIV and harm reduction activists, which grounds my work today. Ultimately, I see nursing as a form of mutual aid, a way of providing care to my communities. I want to imagine liberatory ways of providing public health services and to demonstrate that medical services do not have to be stigmatizing or oppressive and that a better way is possible.

I’m passionate about advancing grassroots solutions to build a future in which everyone can thrive. Born and raised in Georgia, I graduated from Middlebury College in 2016, where I studied history, sociology, and Spanish. In the years since, I’ve worked at the intersection of community-building, healing, and human rights among diverse groups. From 2017 to 2019 I served as the Family Network Director at the Colibri Center for Human Rights in Tucson, Arizona, where I helped build a nationwide support and solidarity network for families whose loved ones disappeared while crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. After returning home to Atlanta, I’ve helped advance policies and build coalitions for a more inclusive Georgia, serving as Chief of Staff for the first openly gay man to serve in the Georgia House of Representatives and managing a multilingual voter protection program in the 2020 election cycle. I’m so honored to have been selected for this year’s Markowski-Leach cohort; I’m proud to join a community of people dedicated to advancing equity for LGBTQ+ folks. With the financial support of the Markowski-Leach Scholarship, I’ll be able to dive all the more deeply into my studies at Stanford Law School and sharpen my legal skills to become a more effective advocate for frontline communities.

My name is Dang Khoa Nguyen Ngoc. I’m a Vietnamese student from the Bay Area and will be attending UC Berkeley in the fall for Material Science and Engineering. I’m incredibly grateful and proud to be a recipient of this scholarship, especially with the validation for my passion towards LGBT issues that it comes with. I grew up in Vietnam for 14 years, where I’ve seen familial and patriarchal structures designed to silence queer voices into cookie-cutter definitions of families. I’ve also had the privilege to experience the diversity and openness that are celebrated here in the Bay Area, which I’ve made a mission to extend to the silenced communities I came from. So, I created a website called YOU Project, which aims to celebrate the empowerment in professing one’s truth and connecting with a community. (Check it out at www.youlgbtq.com). I also gave a TEDx talk about this topic to share my story and shed light on the more silent, family-based oppression in Asian cultures that I’ve experienced. Though I’m choosing engineering as my path to make a difference in the world, my identity and connection with the LGBTQ community will always be my personal fuel and mission, which is now further strengthened by the Markowski-Leach Scholarship. Thank you.

As the only lesbian to come out during my time at a Catholic high school in Vallejo, I am humbled to be awarded a Markowski-Leach scholarship — one of many milestones that has contributed to validating my identity and educational pursuits. The support from other LGBTQ+ folk in the Bay Area is the sole reason I have been successful in my own personal and career growth; this scholarship, thanks to the legacies of Jim Leach and Tom Markowski, is just one more beautiful gift I have received on my path to contributing to a more accepting world.

I found a second family in the Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa, a local LGBTQ+ center, when I was 16. As an adult, I was hired as one of the “youth outreach counselors” who had first mentored me through my own struggle with internalized homophobia. With this award, I can confidently continue my work of serving other LGBTQ+ adolescents through engaging outreach and personal counseling.

I am a California community college student transferring to SFSU in the fall of 2020 to continue my junior year with a psychology major. I hold an Associate of Arts in Psychology and an Associate of Arts in Journalism from Diablo Valley College and Los Medanos College. The Markowski-Leach scholarship is the first to celebrate my sexual identity and support my goal of becoming either a marriage and family therapist (MFT), or working to create more inclusive environments for employees under the scope of industrial/organizational psychology.

I am honored to be a recipient of the Markowski-Leach Scholarship. I originate from a small rural community in the Central Valley called Kerman, in which Queer students like me are belittled, ridiculed, and discriminated against. Despite the traumas I faced in my community, I decided to return and start my own non-profit called Central Valley Scholars (centralvalleyscholars.org) and started the first-ever LGBTQ+ scholarship in the Central Valley. Growing up in such a homophobic community, I often encounter judgment and diminishment for the work I do. The Markowski-Leach Scholarship not only acknowledges and celebrates my work, but it rewards me for it. In addition to assisting my financial need, this scholarship gives me the encouragement and passion to continue forward and strive through the obstacles I encounter. While I am currently unclear of what specific career I am aiming to attain for the future, there is one thing I know for certain: I will continue to work for the equity and justice of LGBTQIA+ peoples and use my own privileges to create spaces for justice for other unserved communities.

Please click here to read a “Berkeley News” article about Central Valley Scholars.

My name is Cengiz Cemaloglu and I am a deferred admit to the MBA program at Stanford Graduate School of Business. I am currently a Senior Consultant at ReD Associates in Copenhagen – a global strategy consultancy based on the social-sciences. I work to bring humans at the center of decision making for Fortune 500 corporations, governments, and not-for-profits alike. I hold a BA in Anthropology and Government from Harvard College – where I focused my studies on the ethics and practices surrounding global financial markets with a particular focus on the rise of Islamic banking and finance in Asia. Prior to joining ReD, I worked at Goldman Sachs’ multi-asset investing group, worked with the strategy team of SOHO China, and served in leadership roles on the board of the Harvard/MIT Cooperative Society, Harvard Art Museums, and the Harvard Foundation. I am incredibly honored to receive the Markowski–Leach Scholarship, as to me, this award is simply an encouragement and a reminder of all the work that is still yet to be done on advancing and securing the rights of LGBTQ+ folks and all other minority groups on a global scale.

After finishing high school in my hometown of Innsbruck, Austria, I completed my undergraduate degree in Economics, Urban Planning & Environmental Studies at the University of Cambridge in England. I started my career in the technology industry, being part of the founding team of a web start-up in London. Subsequently I spent three years as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company working across 16 countries and four continents. Since September 2019 I have been pursuing my MBA at Stanford. Fueled by a strong sense of responsibility towards our community, my biggest passion outside of work has been to contribute to LGBTQ causes. Receiving the Markwoski-Leach Scholarship is therefore both an honor and motivation for me to keep pushing for the rights of all LGBTQ people, wherever they may live. I particularly care about creating inclusive workplaces that enable everyone to be their full and best selves, and motivating corporations to be leaders in the fight for LGBTQ equality around the globe.

I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Sociology Department and a member of the Designated Emphasis Program in Women, Gender, and Sexuality at UC Berkeley. In my interview-based dissertation research, I examine how intermarried Asian and white Americans navigate gendered racial and ethnic differences, expectations, and desires in their day-to-day lives from within the couple to child rearing, extended family relations, and beyond. As a Graduate Student Instructor in the Sociology Department, Instructor for the Transfer Center, Berkeley Connect Mentor, Sociology Honors Program Mentor, and Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program Supervisor, I strive to help students succeed academically. During my undergraduate career, I was president of Queer People of Color at UC San Diego where I co-organized campus and community events and connections. Also during that time, I served on the LGBTQIA Speakers Bureau and as a Queer Peer Mentor. Once I complete my doctoral degree, I plan to become a professor to continue my research and teaching at the intersections of immigration, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and family, and to work with students from disadvantaged and marginalized backgrounds on their academic goals. I am grateful and honored to be a recipient of the Markowski-Leach Scholarship.

I am so incredibly honored to be awarded the Markowski-Leach scholarship this year. I graduated from Yale University in 2015 with a B.S. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. I was involved with LGBTQ+ advocacy and community building throughout college, and it is where I first became committed to serving the LGBTQ+ community in my future career. I am currently a third year medical student at Stanford Medical School, with an interest in neuropsychiatry and mental health advocacy. I have joined an incredible community of LGBTQ+ students and mentors at Stanford. With their support, I helped co-found Medical Student Pride Alliance, the first national LGBTQ+ medical student association. Since 2018, it has expanded to over 40 chapters in 20 states, some of which are the first LGBTQ+ student groups ever formed at their institutions. With the support of the Markowski-Leach scholarship, I aim to continue my work striving to strengthen our community and address health disparities, particularly those around mental health. I hope to continue uplifting marginalized voices, and making an impact on our world.

Tim grew up in Cleveland, OH and from Georgetown University in 2016, completing an AB in English and performing arts. After studying at Georgetown, Tim worked as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company while completing an M.Div. at United Lutheran Seminary and a D.Min. at the Rawlings School of Divinity at Liberty University. Tim concurrently served as a pastor in Northeast Ohio. Tim now is completing a join JD/MBA at Stanford University and is involved in NALSA, OutLaw, the Federalist Society, First Generation and Low Income Student Group, and the Christian Law Fellowship. During this 1L summer, Tim is working with a faith-based consortium in Northeast Ohio to provide legal services for the working poor. Tim’s interests lie at the intersection of law, faith, and business – with a particular focus on leveraging the law to help people create lives of dignity.

My name is Ezekiel Adigun, and I am currently in my final year of medical school at the University of California, San Francisco. I’m incredibly excited to receive this award because it supports students working to give back to the LGBTQ community in a visible and unapologetic way. I’m originally from Washington, DC but moved to the Bay Area in 2016 after attending college at Harvard and a far too brief two years living in Brazil working in education and health tech. I first started working with LGBTQ folks back in 2005 when I volunteered with an organization called Food & Friends that continues to provide meals and build community for people living with HIV in the DC metro area. This was back before I had really accepted that I was gay, but it was such a powerful experience that it stuck with me and motivated me to continue the work. Since then I’ve interned at Fenway Health, worked in men’s health at the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers, and served as an advocacy team member for ImpulseSF. When I’m not hitting the books, I enjoy taking hip-hop dance classes with Groove Against the Machine in Oakland and playing kickball with Varsity Gay League. After finishing my medical training, I hope to work in a federally qualified health center providing full-spectrum primary care with a special focus on preventative health care for LGBTQ folks.

My name is Ezekiel Gorrocino and I am honored to receive the Markowski-Leach Scholarship as I begin my studies at UC Hastings. Originally from a small, rural town in Mexico, I migrated to the U.S. at the age of 16. Formerly undocumented, political asylum gave me the freedom to live openly as a gay man and to pursue my education. I attended San Francisco City College and later transferred to UC Berkeley where I obtained my Bachelor’s in Political Economy and a minor in Public Policy. Until recently I was a Policy Associate at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), a nonprofit working to protect family wealth by fighting predatory lending practices. Before CRL I was a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs with Coro of Northern California, where I gained experience in politics, government, business and nonprofit sectors. Prior to Coro I worked in an immigration law office handling asylum, citizenship, and DACA applications. More recently, I was the Chair of the Peace and Justice Commission in Berkeley, making recommendations to the city on homelessness, immigration, and LGBT issues. In 2016 I was selected as a New Leaders Council Fellow, and in 2018 as a NALCAB Colegio Fellow. Receiving this scholarship empowers me to continue pursuing my goal of advocating for, and working with, the low-income community in the policy and legislative arena. On my free time I enjoy browsing bookstores, reading in coffee shops, trying new restaurants in the Bay Area, and volunteering with my community.

I am incredibly grateful to be awarded a Markowski-Leach scholarship. I am currently a PhD student studying cognitive science at Stanford in the Department of Psychology. Broadly, I am interested in how we understand abstract concepts such as aesthetics, gender, and personal identity. My research uses both behavioral and computational methods to examine the structures of our conceptual repertoire. One of the most important goals of my academic pursuits is to apply research in cognitive science to helping the LGBTQ+ community. Specifically, I hope to create systematic mapping of folk conceptual representations of gender and sexuality and explore the possibility of instilling more flexible thinking about gender and sexuality through theory-based conceptual interventions. I am also an active advocate for LGBTQ+ representation in STEM fields – I am involved in the 500 Queer Scientists program, hoping to contribute to the representation of queer people of color in science. I have also served in multiple student and non-profit organizations for LGBTQ+ well-being and sexual health since high school. With the support of the Markowski-Leach scholarship, I hope to further my visibility as an out queer scientist and broaden the impact of my academic research on the conceptualizations of gender and sexuality to help make the world a better place for the LGBTQ+ community.

I am a doctoral candidate in the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, I worked as a clinical social worker in Chicago before starting his doctoral program. As a social worker I served young people affected by structural marginalization, including homeless youth, queer and trans youth, and violence-involved youth. In my doctoral program, I have translated my practice experience to research, studying violence against marginalized youth. I serve as the project director for the SF YEAH study on violence against youth experiencing homelessness in San Francisco, a joint collaboration with UC Berkeley, UCSF, and Larkin Street Youth Services. For my dissertation, I am conducting qualitative interviews with transgender young adults on their childhood and adolescent experiences of violence and health. In addition to violence, gender, and sexuality, I write and teach about power, the social environment, social work ethics, and social welfare policy. After finishing my Ph.D., I plan to continue research and writing in academia.

I am proud to be a recipient of the Markowski-Leach Scholarship. I graduated from Stanford University in 2016 with a BAH in Archaeology and an MS in Biology, where I analyzed the nutritional and skeletal health of a Neolithic community in Turkey for my thesis. In my free time, I was also involved with the Cardinal Free Clinics and Symphony Orchestra. As an undergraduate and now as a medical student at Stanford Medical School, I’ve been lucky to find homes in many communities and am grateful to have had so many visible and fantastic mentors, whose experiences have empowered me to share my own. In particular, I’ve relied on archaeology – a discipline created to shed light on untold stories from the past –  to help me and those around me to understand my own dynamic history and future as a queer, Asian-American. With the support of the Markowski-Leach Scholarship, I hope to continue my interests in archaeology and anthropology in medical school by studying evolving global and population health disparities. As a physician, I will strive to share my power as a specialist and to build communities for marginalized voices. Thank you once again to the committee and to my mentors for their support.

This scholarship validates and supports my lifelong work within the LGBT community and commitment to service to others. My public service started in the U.S. Army, in 1995, where I proudly served as an intelligence analyst but was relieved of duty under the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy in order to maintain custody of my son. In 1999, I transitioned my focus to working in the nonprofit community on substance abuse, and then to feeding those who were living with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses at Project Open Hand. Gradually, I moved into community building where I worked to connect nonprofits and their mission to technology and volunteerism at Salesforce. This dedication to community is even reflected in my personal life—I am happily married to an environmental advocate and my son is now serving in the U.S. Navy. My current educational goal is to finish my Masters in Social Work, which is focused on expanding the mental health field to include nature, especially Forest Therapy, into the therapeutic process. This area of study provides me the opportunity to bring a more holistic, cross-cultural lens to the field of mental health, while at the time underscoring the deep connection between human wellbeing and environmental sustainability.

As a young lesbian in middle school, I felt isolated from my peers and my family and constantly bombarded by statistics of LGBTQ youth suicide or advertisements warning about the dangers of same-sex marriage. My love for the the LGBTQ community arose from my difficult middle school experience, and has informed my leadership experiences here at UC Berkeley. I helped organize the 2018 Queer Trans People of Color Conference; I served as Legislative Director for the Office of ASUC Senator Teddy Lake, the queer/trans community’s endorsed student representative, where I wrote bills in support of trans and non-binary students; I served as president of Queer Student Union; I interned for Planned Parenthood’s Government Relations team over the summer of 2019; and I currently serve as Board Director of the Queer Alliance Resource Center (QARC), the oldest LGBTQ student organization at Cal providing resources, advocacy, and community to queer/trans students. The Markowski-Leach Scholarship will support me financially as I strive towards becoming the first in my family to go to law school, where I intend to merge my commitment to LGBTQ rights to issues of employment, healthcare, immigration, and family law. Even more importantly, the Markowski-Leach Scholarship will allow me to further support the LGBTQ community at UC Berkeley. I will be able to dedicate more of my time to leading QARC as the organization fights for greater sexual and mental health, educational, political, and community resources for queer/trans students and educating future leaders of the LGBTQ community on campus.

Hey! I am so grateful to have received this scholarship to attend UC Berkeley in the fall—my dream since I was 8 years old so receiving this scholarship has been such a blessing. As a Gender & Sexuality major, I am incredibly passionate about the LGBT community serving as a leader in several mainstream organizations, such as Rotary Club and 4H where I act as a bridge to educate others about LGBT issues and support individuals by providing a safe outlet for them to express their feelings. Once I get my degree, I hope to go onto law school so I can become a discrimination lawyer and serve LGBT people.

My name is Jenna Ruzekowicz, a student from Central New York who will be attending Stanford University next fall to study either Environmental or Political Science, with prospective minors in Creative Writing and/or Public Policy. Receiving the Markowski-Leach scholarship means so very much to me. By helping to financially aid my education, an endless amount of doors are being opened into my future. Because of this scholarship, I hope to be able to afford studying abroad, as well as in Washington, where I can make my mark in the political world, advocating for the environment and my personal community. In the future, I hope for my studies to lead me into a field where I can uphold the liberties and rights of all people. I am undecided what I will do after my Bachelor’s, but am currently considering paths in economics, and law. Receiving this scholarship has helped me gain a jumpstart on my future, and will ultimately limit the financial burden on myself and family. In life all I hope to do is create the largest positive impact that I can. No matter where this impact takes place, I will always be thankful for this amazing honor, and use it to further my impact in the LGBT+ community.

Lee Lemus Hufstedler is a medical student in the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program, health disparities researcher, and trainer on transgender-affirming healthcare. After completing a bachelor’s degree in Biochemical Studies at Harvard College, Lee worked for a decade as a community organizer, serving as founding director of Erósfera, Center for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Puebla, Mexico, and co-director of Bluestockings Activist Center in NYC. Lee also coordinated research with UCSF’s Food Insecurity and Health Group, exploring food security and health for people living with HIV. Lee now researches the health and healthcare needs of homeless transgender youth in the San Francisco Bay Area, and helps healthcare organizations better understand how to serve marginalized transgender populations. Lee is trans, proudly Chicano, a parent to a senior miniature poodle, and loves living in Oakland. Visit leelemus.com for more information.

Hello! My name is John Earl Dio, and I am a third-year undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in Legal Studies, and minoring in Human Rights. I am originally from Manila, Philippines, but moved to the United States back in 2001 and have continued to reside in San Fernando Valley, California since. As someone who was formerly undocumented, grew up socioeconomically disadvantaged, and also identified as gay, this scholarship means that I can dedicate more hours to my studies instead of working more part-time. Moreover, this award will also support me as I continue establishing, OUTLAW at Berkeley, which is Berkeley’s first queer, LGBTQ, and ally-in-solidarity undergraduate pre-law organization that launched this past 2013-2014 academic year. More importantly, this award will help contribute to my future goal of becoming a lawyer. Our community is still by far one of the most “legally” discriminated groups in the United States. Whether it is the lack of trans healthcare coverage, or discriminatory labor statutes, our community still has far to overcome in the coming years. Therefore, after finishing my undergraduate degree, I plan on going to law school, where I will specialize in labor rights, and immigration.

In the fall of 2014 I’ll be attending Stanford University. I’m very interested in studying various aspects of the humanities and the arts, including language, political science, and music. I’ve been a musician all of my life. In high school I played in the marching band and I’ve sung in a choir for eleven years. Additionally, I strongly identify as an LGBTQ activist and feminist. I’m very excited to study these subjects in college, and I know that my future lies in music, activism, and leadership. As a Markowski-Leach Scholar, I feel more secure in achieving these goals. Beyond monetary assistance, which has helped my family with much of the burden of my college tuition, Markowski-Leach has also given me hope and confidence. Receiving this award is an affirmative push in the right direction; it has validated my dreams and given me more confidence as a leader.

I am incredibly honored to receive the Markowski-Leach Scholarship.  I grew up in Southern California, got my B.S. in Biology at Stanford, and am currently a third year medical student at UCSF.  Growing up in a small Asian conservative suburb has made me value and appreciate just how valuable positive role models are.  I know I would not have been able to be where I am today without the visibility of supportive mentors and the incredible atmosphere of diversity and acceptance that is the Bay Area.  Becoming involved in HIV/AIDS testing and counseling in college sparked my desire to continue being an advocate for sexual health and HIV/AIDS issues, and I want to make it a point to incorporate that in my future career as a physician in whatever way I can.  With the help of this scholarship, I hope to achieve my dreams of becoming a physician and hopefully become the type of mentor and role model that I have admired.

I am excited to have been selected as a recipient of the Markowski-Leach Scholarship. The award will support me as I continue to research and write about queer and trans issues. Often, I find myself disappointed by LGBT organizations that focus on all but the L, B, and T; my work focuses on giving a voice to those who tend to be excluded from the mainstream “gay rights” groups. These individuals should not only be included but become leaders in activist efforts.

In the upcoming academic year, I will complete my research project on the representation of queer, transgender, and gender non-conforming women in Japanese art and literature. After graduation, I intend to work as a writer and continue to study and teach about gender and sexuality issues.

Hello! My name is Daniel Herrador, a current student in the Joint Medical Program and UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco. I am pursuing my Master’s in Health Science (MS) and Doctor of Medicine degree (MD). I am originally from Orange County, California but moved up to the San Francisco Bay Area to attend Stanford University for my bachelor’s degree in Biology. During college, I worked with openly gay San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty to assist constituents in the Castro neighborhood with various issues, complaints, and concerns they had for their neighborhood and city.

I have also worked with TeachAIDS, an HIV/AIDS nonprofit to help redesign and repackage their educational materials to make them more electronically accessible in a variety of formats, all while keeping them free-of charge to access. I am also EMT trained, which combined with my public health experiences, put me on the track to preparing for medical school. After graduation and before going to medical and grad school, I worked with the San Francisco Department of Public Health to help implement electronic medical record software in the city clinics. In my free time, I enjoy playing softball with the San Francisco Gay Softball League, riding my motorcycle, spending time with my caring and loving partner, playing nerdy video games, and catching up with friends. My professional goals include working in a public clinic in the mission, focusing on serving the San Francisco Latin@ community.

Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Mary Susman is a fourth year undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, where she is double majoring in Sociology and Gender & Women’s Studies. Receiving a Markowski-Leach scholarship is empowering as it not only enables her—an out-of-state student from a working-poor family, who works multiple jobs to afford tuition on her own—to continue her studies at her dream school, but it also reaffirms her work within the queer community for collective liberation for all people.

While her LGBTQ activism began in middle school, her work has intensified over the years. During college, she served on the planning committee for a camp for LGBTQ youth, she interned at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and she designed and facilitated an undergraduate course called “Collective Liberation” at UC Berkeley. As an openly queer person, she continues to challenge stereotypes while working to dismantle systems oppression that especially affect the most vulnerable among the LGBTQ community. The work she does is only possible because she lives authentically and out, and she is ever grateful for the support of the Markowski-Leach Scholarship Fund for helping her follow her passion and make the world more livable and equitable for all people, regardless of gender and sexual identity. Mary’s future goal is to pursue a joint Ph.D. program in Public Policy and Sociology. Her work will be on the intersection of gender and sexuality, critical race theory, poverty, and policy.

I’m Drew, a second-­‐year mechanical engineering graduate student at UC Berkeley, researching robotics and controls. I received my B.S. in mechanical engineering, with a minor in computer science, from the University of Maryland, College Park, where I led my local chapter of Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM.) Since graduating in 2012 and coming to Berkeley for my Ph.D., I’ve served in the national organization of oSTEM Incorporated, working on our chapter handbook and some chapter programs to help current student leaders.

My current research is in the design and control of tensegrity (tensile-­‐integrity) structures for dynamic locomotion, in combination with NASA Ames Research Center, where these structures may be used for future planetary lander missions. Receiving the Markowski-­‐Leach Scholarship is an honor, one that will continue to motivate my dual goals of engineering innovation and queer outreach. Honors such as this give me motivation to resist those in my field who compel me to focus solely on research. Though I’m convinced that my outreach work is immensely important, sometimes professors don’t see it the same way – this award is a vindication of my efforts! Thanks again to the committee and all involved, I truly appreciate this honor.

Hours after DOMA was repealed and Prop8 was dismissed for lack of standing, I reflect on this scholarship and what it means to be here and now. I’m proud to be queer, and today I am happy to be an American. But I’m also aware that the future of our community does not end with the (continuing) struggle for marriage equality. We have to keep working to make publicly visible the extent of the legal, institutional, social, and medical inequalities faced by our community members so that they may be challenged. I want to be a part of that struggle. This scholarship will be used to offset the intimidating costs of my medical education and my masters thesis, which examines how heterosexism seeps into basic science research. With these dual degrees, I hope to close disparity gaps in healthcare for all people and to refuse and confuse the the framing of heterosexuality and the male/female binary as the pinacles of ecological and ethological fitness. Our identities are biologically and socially rooted and we are continuing to ask “to what?” But I for one hope to live in a future in which biology is not used as the moral foundation for the justification of a way of life. I’m here and now- that should be enough.