NOGLSTP is pleased to announce that the 2011 Battelle/NOGLSTP Out to Innovate scholarship awardees are Michael Brandon Waak and Tonia Poteat.
Michael Waak is a senior at University of Wisconsin Stevens Point majoring in Water Resources Management with a minor in Chemistry. Mr. Waak has received numerous academic honors and leadership excellence awards. He is currently president of the UWSP Gender and Sexuality Alliance as well as the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honor Society on campus and was an Eagle Scout. Mr. Waak is an undergraduate peer tutor, and also facilitates Safe Zone training on campus. He is only one of two students conducting independent research on campus. Mr.Waak accomplishes all this while working two jobs and being an advocate for LGBT rights. He intends to pursue a master’s degree in Water Resource Management upon graduation.
The Battelle/NOGSLTP Out to Innovate Graduate Scholarship recipient, Tonia Poteat, is a Ph.D. candidate in International Health at The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore Maryland. Ms. Poteat is also a practicing Physician’s Assistant in LGBT health care at Chase Brexton Health Services, Baltimore and her doctoral research is focused on access to health care services and HIV risk among transgender adults in the US and Senegal. She is the recipient of numerous accolades for her research and community involvement.
As part of their $5,000 scholarship, NOGLSTP will offer each applicant a complimentary student membership to NOGLSTP and a complimentary registration to NOGLSTP’s “Out to Innovate” Summit to be held at Ohio State University in October, 2012.
With lead funding from Battelle Memorial Institute, the Battelle/NOGLSTP Out to Innovate Scholarship is the first such award targetted to LGBTA students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. The scholarships are designed to promote academic excellence and increased visibility of talented LGBT students in STEM careers.