Alia Federow, a 2000 graduate of Kenwood Academy in Hyde Park, is credited with laying the foundation for a Gay-Straight Alliance at Kenwood, and she participated in several GLSEN Youth Leadership Summits. As vice president of the Kenwood Academy Character Club, she often introduced gay topics. She is currently a freshman at Columbia College.
Jennifer Korty and Russ Nelson: Together, Korty and Nelson—seniors at Glenbard West H.S. in Glen Ellyn—helped launch their school's PRISM GSA/tolerance awareness club. They organized the school's participation in National Day of Silence and lead the Student Institute Day on Tolerance, Awareness and Respect.
Kelli Willis, a senior at Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora, helped to revive the school's GSA called Spectrum. She organized student participation in the AIDS Walk, held an overnight GLBT student lock-in and helped bring About Face Youth Theatre to IMSA.
FUEL Creative
Arts Youth Scholarship
Louise Gumbs, a 1998 grad of Glenbard West, laid the foundation for the GSA founded by Korty and Nelson. She is taking a semester off from college to transfer to an art school in New York, where she plans to pursue advertising or design in the alternative comics industry.
Presented by FUEL youth.
GLSEN Chicago
Al Wardell Scholarship
Cherese Davis, a 1999 graduate of South Shore High School, works at the CORE Center in the Chicago Youth Against AIDS Project and is a Horizons peer educator. Currently a student at Chicago State University, she plans to pursue her Ph.D. and work within Chicago's GLBT community social services.
Named for the distinguished educator and tireless Chicago-area activist.
GLSEN Chicago
Erika and Mala Scholarship
Elisa Harkness, a senior at York High School in Elmhurst, is chair of the school's GSA and served on the national GLSEN Student Pride Advisory board. She participated in About Face Youth Theater's First Breath performance and was chair of York's Human Rights Week committee for four years. She also participated in six GLSEN Youth Leadership Summits.
In presenting her with the award, Toni Armstrong, Jr., noted that while sexual orientation is not always an issue, in Harkness's case it is interesting to note that while she is not gay, she has been committed to working on GLBT issues throughout her high school career.
Named in honor of two women who went to prom together at Maine East H.S. in 1994.
Rustin Legacy Award
Isaiah Perry, a senior at Oak Park River Forest High School, was a founding member of A Place for All, his school's Gay-Straight Alliance. He has been active with PRISM, Oak Park's LGBT youth group, and he has attended the Pride Youth Fireball event, an overnight activism program. He also speaks openly about being Black, gay and Christian.
Funded in part by Affinity, and named for the civil-rights leader Bayard Rustin.
CPNA Brian Philpot
Memorial Scholarship
Hannah Garber-Paul has been a visible participant in Chicago's youth GLBT community since she began her freshman year at the University of Chicago Lab High School in 1997. She is co-founder of the school's GSA, participated in About Face's Youth Theatre program for two years, sits on the ACLU's advisory board for GLBT and AIDS issues and helped found Student Pride Chicago, a network of area GSAs.
Named in honor of the CPNA member who helped convince CPNA to support GLSEN's scholarship program.
Exelon/ComEd
Youth Scholarship
Ruth Oppenheim-Rothschild, a senior at Whitney Young High School, introduced the Day of Silence as a member of the school's GSA. She is a key organizer in Whitney Young's Day of Acceptance, and she has been a leader in increasing transgender awareness. She participated in About Face's Youth Theatre program for two years and attended several GLSEN Youth Leadership Summits.
Funded by the Exelon corp. Pride employee group.
Amigas Latinas
Aixa Diaz Scholarship
Marieke Guillen-Treadway, a University of Chicago student who was a critical force in the Whitney Young High School class of 1998, and part of GLBT activism at her school. While in high school, she was president of her school's Gay-Straight Alliance, and organized the first day devoted to the awareness of LGBT youth issues ( then called Tolerance Day, since renamed The Day of Acceptance ) . She helped organize GLSEN Youth Leadership Summits, did public speaking on LGBT youth issues, and spearheaded the revival of Student Pride Chicago ( the networking association of local gay-straight alliances ) . She hopes to pursue a career in art, perhaps eventually starting a nonprofit art studio for artists and children. She is currently working in a neighborhood school with children to gain experience—an activity that would make Aixa Diaz smile.
Scholarship created by Amigas Latinas in honor of founding member Diaz, a teacher at Mozart Elementary School.
Barajas-Reese Latino
Youth Scholarship
Tony Alvarado, active in his Morton East High School GLBT group, class of 2000. He now attends DePaul University and continues his activism.
While in high school at Morton East H.S. in Cicero, Tony helped form a Gay-Straight Alliance club and was very active in bringing LGBT issues to the attention of the school. He took his boyfriend to the prom, organized students for the GLSEN Youth contingent at the Pride Parade, attended GLSEN Youth Leadership Summits, and still works tirelessly for the advancement of gay and Latino causes.
Scholarship created by Chicago activists Javier Barajas and Kasey Reese to honor a youth working on LGBT and Latino issues.
