Meet the 2011 Point Scholars

Isaiah Baiseri
- from Glendora, Calif.
- pursuing a BA in Design Media Arts at the University of California, Los Angeles
- Wells Fargo Point Scholarship recipient

How do you feel your Point Scholarship will change or help your future?
My Point Scholarship will allow me to continue making a difference in the LGBT community in ways I already have and grant me access to opportunities I could have never imagined. Having already been an activist throughout high school at both local and state levels, I thought I would have to give it all up and focus on making money to support myself throughout college. Both my parents lost their jobs six months ago, and my dad unfortunately faces another life-threatening surgery (his twelfth in the past fifteen years). With my Point Scholarship, my family will be free to focus on getting back on their feet, and I can continue the activist work I have previously enjoyed, such as serving on the Gay-Straight Alliance's Board of Directors. I'll also get the chance to focus on and further my studies and eventual career as a multimedia artist creating pro-equality media. Having no previous connection to the creative industry, the mentor Point Foundation will provide me with will expand my horizons and support me as I make my way into a challenging career market.

In conjunction with Point, how do you wish to make a difference in the LGBT community?
My goals in the LGBT community are both political and cultural. As a member of the Gay-Straight Alliance Network's Board of Directors, I will continue helping guide the organization to empower youth activists to fight homophobia and transphobia in schools. I will also continue with the organization to create new and innovative educational workshops for student leaders and help replicate our youth-empowerment model nationwide. Career-wise, as a multimedia artist, I hope to develop projects that compel audiences to see the suffering anti-LGBT discrimination causes and support the fight for overall equality.