Every summer during Pride month, the IGNITE Pride Scholarship awards five students from Humber College and UofGH a $1,000 scholarship. IGNITE recognizes the unique challenges 2SLGBTQ+ members face, including social stigma and higher levels of financial insecurity. With this scholarship, IGNITE hopes to offer better support and alleviate some of the financial hardships disproportionately affecting this community.

Here are the fantastic winners of this year’s IGNITE Pride Scholarship!

Genevieve Boudreau

What does winning the Pride Scholarship mean to you? 

“Winning the pride scholarship means I can have peace of mind.  I can now continue my education and not worry about my rent for a while. While much has changed in the LGBTQ+ community in recent years, we still face discrimination. Members of the community are more likely to live in poverty than their peers, according to the LGBTQ Poverty Collaborative. This will give me some precious time to go out and get involved in my 2SLGBTQ+ community.”

Claudia Ganzaga

Why do you think scholarships like the Pride Scholarship are important? 

“In [a] life that is full of uncertainty, scholarships play a vital role. [They help] boost our self-value and self-motivation regardless of our colour, gender, age, and status. I firmly believe that it will drive us to become the best version of ourselves and inspire other people to work hard to achieve their [life’s goals]. This scholarship will motivate students to work hard on their studies.”

Elisabeth Dorion-Soucy

What does winning the Pride Scholarship mean to you?

“I am so grateful to have been chosen to receive this scholarship. As a queer student, it feels amazing to be recognized and appreciated within my academic community. Being a part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community can be isolating at times. [However], initiatives like [these remind students] that they are not alone and that there are people out there that care about uplifting them. Winning the Pride Scholarship will allow me to start the 2022-2023 school year with the feeling that I am seen and supported in my goals.”

Taryn Rees-Jones

What has it been like to be part of the 2SLGBTQ+ Community?

“[Being] a pansexual woman in a heteronormative relationship, where I would seemingly get support, has been a huge letdown for me. There is a lot of stigma in the 2SLGBTQ+ community towards people who have sexualities that don’t just conform to one gender-specific attraction. I have had friends and romantic relationships in the past that have been quick to dismiss or fetishize it. Recently though, since going to Humber and being introduced to more people like [myself], I have been able to find people who share similar identities and have found really good supportive friends. All-in-all, people are people no matter what community you belong to. [However], I am thankful that I decided to go to Humber because of the friends I have made in the 2SLGBTQ+ community.”

Luna

What future initiatives do you hope to see on campus to further support the 2SLGBTQ+ community? 

“I would love to see more workshops, conversations, and social events since I believe [it is sometimes] hard for people from the community to find others they can relate to. I would also love to see more inclusion with other parts of the campus and not only the 2SLGBTQ+ Centre. What I mean by this is that I would love to see people from our community taking space and being vocal about our existence and the issues we face. [I would also like to see] events for people outside the community that want to be [2SLGBTQ+] allies, where they can learn how to be respectful and helpful, listening directly to queer people. In short, I would like to see everyone sharing spaces and being respectful [towards one another], and I think the best way [to achieve that] is through education.”

We congratulate the winners of the IGNITE Pride Scholarship and wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

*These interviews have been edited for length and clarity*

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