The Advocate

Signal boosting to amplify this incredible opportunity: "My name is Nguyen Pham, and earlier this year, I created the Mensa Foundation's first-ever Progress Pride Scholarship to lift and center marginalized students at the intersection of BIPOC and LGBTQ.   The Progress Pride Scholarship has just officially launched, and I'm spreading the word to drum up interest in the application.  Up for grabs are two $10k college scholarships -- the Foundation's largest scholarship awards ever -- for those who identify as BIPOC and LGBTQ and who have a demonstrated record of positive service to the BIPOC and LGBTQ communities.   An essay is all that's required up front, due January 15, 2022.  Open to all U.S. university students.  Awardee(s) will be selected in early 2022 and will then need to furnish a résumé/CV.   To help with promotion, I've assembled an info page at https://progresspride.org/ as well as an e-flier, included below and attached as a forwardable image.   W

When I was a young child I was loud and passionate and imaginative and full of questions. When I got a little older, the world forced me to hide my brilliance behind a facade of docility, because being different is inconvenient for adults and prey for bullies. So, I became very good at pretending to be whatever was expected of me. I was quiet. I was obedient. I was small. It nearly killed me. More than once.  Now, as a grown-ass man, I refuse to live within the cages around my joy or the shackles bound to my soul. I have learned how to be my own champion and I refuse, I reject, I renounce all ties that would bind me from being exactly who I am. My life is for living and I'll never let anyone tell me or my family not to be as awesome as we want. I lost all my fucks a long time ago in the chaos of those childhood scars and pain. But in the process, I found myself instead, and now I try to help others find themselves too. This is for unapologetically existing. This is for my ancestors