In commemoration of Pride Month, the IGNITE Pride Scholarship was launched on June 1 at both the Lakeshore and North campuses.
It is the third consecutive year that five students from the 2SLGBTQ+ community at Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber can apply to receive a $1,000 prize.
Melany Palacios-Naranjo, a student representative at IGNITE’s student union, addressed the audience with a speech about the scholarship launch.
“We acknowledge that there are so many different diversities and communities that all come together to be at this one campus,” she said.
“Most students don’t have supportive families when they come out as part of the 2SLGBTQ+community, so giving them a scholarship just to get them started is one way of showing them our support.”
IGNITE’S goal is to make sure that everyone feels welcome, heard and understood and having the Pride scholarship come out would be important and help support the students, said Palacios-Naranjo.
Allison O’Neill, an Early Childhood Studies student at Humber College, who attended the launch, said: “Tuition is very expensive, and a scholarship would make me focus on school and prioritize the important things in my life rather than being worried about my financial situation.”
According to IGNITE, this scholarship money can be used for tuition, rent, groceries, and anyway that helps students take some financial pressure off them.
Applications for the scholarship will remain open until Friday, June 30, 2023.
To be eligible for the Pride scholarship, you must be a student (full-time or part-time) enrolled at Humber College or the University of Guelph-Humber in the Summer 2023 and/or Fall 2023 semesters; you must currently be in good academic standing in your program; you must identify as a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community; and you must have demonstrated leadership experience and/or community involvement.
The Pride scholarship launch ended with the Pride and Trans flag-raising ceremony.