First things first, I would not even have been able to come to Teachers College to pursue my education had it not been for this scholarship. I remember receiving the acceptance letter from TC and immediately after the sense of elation was the sense of dread that I would not only have to turn it down, but I might have to do so because of my family’s and my own socioeconomic situation. My parents uprooted themselves from their family, their friends, their support systems and their relatively comfortable lives in Taiwan to allow me to pursue a better life in this country. They came here on a wish and a hope, and fast forward 20 something years, here I am at TC, studying to be a mental health counselor, doing research on minority stress, body objectification, campus climate and, interestingly enough, dating apps.

So yes, I worked very hard, I achieved, I participated in school, and I did research, but sometimes none of that matters when you simply don’t have the funding and support from someone else to do what you want to do.

Ultimately it’s because of your scholarship, and the underlying belief that I was worth investing in, that I had potential, that I was deserving of some support – which I constantly question; did they make a mistake, was this all a dream? – that I can pursue my dream to get my doctorate in Counseling Psychology. I plan on pursuing research and practice with the focus of providing for sexual/racial ethnic/cultural minority people who are disenfranchised and under-served members of the population.

This was once merely a dream, something that I remember thinking while I was attending community college. Being able to live that dream… well, it’s another dream in itself. It’s hard, it’s tiring, and sometimes I just feel like I want to sleep, but I wouldn’t have it any other way right now.

Currently, I am the President of Queer TC, the LGBTQ student group on campus. I am the LGBTQ Fellow in the Vice President’s Office for Diversity & Community Affairs. I have developed, planned and executed several events that touch on an unexpected intersection and bring light to communities and resources that many (teachers and students and staff alike) would have never considered (Gaming and Identity, gaming and video game creation as a source of community and acceptance and catharsis for marginalized people, and the potential impact of those created games on mainstream society). I currently am an intern, for my counseling fieldwork, at Kull Initiative for Psychotherapy, under the LGBTQ Division, hoping to bring affordable and culturally competent mental health care to those who are not as privileged.

Suffice it to say, this scholarship is what made all this possible. Truly. Because of that, I thank you, today and every day for being the one who believed in me, the concept of me, and the reality of me. I hope that I am doing this scholarship justice, and I hope that the doors that this scholarship has opened will help me pass on that lesson. We all deserve someone who believes in us.

Jason Wang is pursuing an M.A. in Counseling & Clinical Psychology.

I’m a transgender man, a seeker, sometimes silly, mischievous and often quiet. I have worked both as a research assistant on Native-led community research initiatives concerning indigenous identity development and traditional knowledge, and as a psychotherapist within transgender and indigenous communities in Toronto, Canada. Recently I completed an M.Ed in Counseling Psychology at the University of Toronto, where I was fortunate to receive counseling training that incorporated indigenous philosophies. I am now delighted to be a student in Clinical Psychology at Teachers College.

My work as a counselor has informed my current research project, which addresses the social service needs of Two Spirit (LGBT, Indigenous) youth in New York City. Through a qualitative interview research design, I am examining the ways in which urban Two Spirit youth have experienced barriers to accessing services, as well as their particular needs for mental health support in New York City. Two Spirit clients have frequently told me that they’ve been subjected to homophobic treatment by counselors in indigenous mental health centers, and conversely, have been stigmatized based on race in mainstream LGBT organizations.

They have also reported being treated with inappropriate therapeutic modalities by mainstream counselors who knew little about aboriginal worldviews. Research focused on the specific service needs of Two Spirit youth is critical; all studies that currently exist in this area show immense gaps in appropriate mental health service provision for this population.

My research project is entirely made possible by the Diversity Scholarship founded by Kevin Jennings. As a graduate student from Canada, without access to any federal funding for my studies, this scholarship has afforded me the ability to attend Teachers College and to engage in this research work. Mr. Jennings, I am deeply grateful. Thank you.

Max Carney is pursuing a doctorate in Psychology in Education