Meet the 2011 Point Scholars

Kathleen McGinn
- from Howell, N.J.
- pursuing a JD at Boston University School of Law

How do you feel your Point Scholarship will change or help your future?
The scholarship I'm receiving from Point will help me professionally, personally and financially in the years to come. Professionally, the mentoring program, as well as the community service requirement, will enable me to make connections in my field and receive advice and guidance as I start law school and embark on a legal career. Financially, the support Point provides will lessen my student loan debt so that I can choose whatever career path enriches my life the most, rather than the career path that will enable me to pay off my debts. And personally, Point is its own type of family, and the support, both from other Point Scholars and from mentors and board members, will be monumental in my development as an LGBT person in the legal profession.

In conjunction with Point, how do you wish to make difference in the LGBT community?
It is very important to me to give back to the LGBT community, both in my career and in my personal life. Through the Point Scholarship I will create a community service project to help the LGBT community in Boston, and I hope to concentrate on helping homeless LGBT youth in the city. Professionally, I want to go into international human rights law with a focus in women's rights and LGBT rights, and I hope to fight for these causes both in the United States and abroad. Personally, as an LGBT individual, I hope to be a role model for future generations of LGBT youth and use my training as a lawyer to affect positive change in the LGBT community in the years to come.