James cevallos

James is a gay first year medical student in the Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program. James grew up in Chula Vista, California and attended UCLA for college. James is passionate about mentoring students who are underrepresented in STEM. James mentors undergraduate and post baccalaureate students through a number of different groups in the Bay Area and Southern California. In his spare time, James loves to read at Dolores park and play water polo for SF Tsunami. James is humbled to be selected for a QOC award and plans to use the funds towards his tuition!

Garbiel guzman

Originally from Chula Vista, CA, Gabriel has recently graduated from the University of California, Riverside and received his degree in English and Media & Cultural Studies. At UC Riverside, Gabriel was a Resident Advisor for MUNDO the Chicanx/Latinx living learning community, Co-Creative Director for ClassXFashion, Peer Mentor for Chicano Student Programs, and a Community OutReach Educator for the LGBTRC. Gabriel plans to utilize his scholarship funds to support his relocation to Chicago as he prepares to pursue a PhD in Performance Studies at Northwestern University in the Fall. Gabriel’s research interests focus on uncovering the way that the phenomenology of light can be used to illuminate the stigma attached to sex work and the queer body through a multi-disciplinary lens. Being a queer first-generation Latinx scholar, Gabriel wants to contribute to the diversification of educators in the higher educational context and to positively nurture future scholars of color.

Elias riyad joseph

Elias Riyad Joseph is a southern and brown queer transgender person. They are passionate about working towards liberation in their lifetime. They will use the scholarship funds to help manage the costs of chronic illness and stabilize their living situation to best support them in their role as a student, organizer, and mental health professional focusing on queer and trans individuals in the south.

stanton li

Stanton is a gay, Chinese-American student and activist from San Francisco, California. He is a recent graduate of Lowell High School and will be attending City College of San Francisco as a biological sciences major. Stanton has previously worked with several non-profit groups including the Chinese Progressive Association, San Francisco LGBT Center, San Francisco Public Library, LYRIC, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

Stanton is deeply grateful for this scholarship, which he'll be using to pay for books, school supplies, and college fees. Stanton hopes to receive his bachelor's degree in biology and possibly pursuing a career in public health.

sam martinez

Sam Martinez is a trans and queer activist from Alameda, California, who will be attending College of Alameda in the fall of 2019. Sam's activist carer started when he choose to attend GSA Network’s activist camp where he was introduced to his first all LGBTQ space. He learned about the oppression his community was facing, but most importantly he learned that he wasn't alone. Through attending activist camp he plunged full force into the world of activism and flourished into what he is today.

Sam is known for his work with GSA Network, and Transgender Law Center nationally because of his involvement with the Trans National Council, which uplifts trans people through the idea of storytelling to show not all trans people have the same story.

The Queens of The Castro scholarship he has received will go towards his higher education cost, and rent and food for his family. Being recognized and rewarded for his work will help him be less stressed out about if he will have enough funds to get to the next month. Most importantly, this will help him continue the fight for trans and queer communities.

marissa reilly

Marissa "Mars" Reilly is a genderflux/nonbinary individual who identifies as polyamorous pansexual-demiromantic (preferring ze/zem/zeir/zedself and he/she/they pronouns). Ze is pursing zeir bachelor's degree at Mills College with a major in Sociology and a Queer Studies minor.

He is currently undertaking his senior thesis, which focuses on addressing Intimate Partner Violence within the LGBT+ community. She is particularly interested in generating solutions (both preventative and reparative) under a Restorative Justice/Transformative Justice framework which do not defer to carceral responses.

They are grateful to receive the QOC scholarship, which they plan to use to compensate participants in their thesis study, fund an anti-violence training in the Bay Area, and support their undergraduate education.

2019 Grace towers Scholarship for the arts Recipients

Beto Soto

Beto Soto is a San Diego based artist and photographer working on elevating the voices and stories of undocumented and queer individuals using photography. Soto identifies as gay and uses He/Him pronouns. With the support of the Grace Towers Scholarship, Soto will continue his photography project titled "#Undocuqueer: Stories from Bordertown." He plans to expand the project to other cities in California through networking with folks who are involved in immigration rights movements. Soto will also support other media creators who are part of the community. To learn more about Beto's work and other projects, visit www.betosoto.com. To follow the "#undocuqueer" project, visit www.undocuqueer.org.

2019 QOC Scholarship Recipients