I experienced being an in-the-closet LGBTQ student thirty-plus years ago, and now in my fifties, I am a happily married out-of-the-closet gay man who returned to school to complete my undergraduate degree and potentially, my master’s degree in Gender and Sexuality Studies. The early 1990s were the “high heel” days of clubbing, partying, attending school, and working lower-wage hourly positions. The latter 1990s and early 2000s were spent climbing the corporate ladder. I predominantly stayed in the closet. There was "no gay" in manufacturing, warehousing, or logistics during that era. The early 1990s were the height of the AIDS crisis, so it was a tumultuous and unsafe time for a gay man to be out of the closet. My late partner Thomas; however, gave me the courage to “come out,” and I did so at the corporate holiday party in 1999. It was both freeing and restricting. By bringing my same-sex date to that party, I was living authentically; however, I learned that in warehousing, others are not open-minded. It became challenging to remain at that workplace. I experienced sexual harassment, which was a hot-button issue in corporate America, but it did not apply to gay men. I transitioned to a new job returning to the closet in my professional life to preserve my career and income. Thomas died from complications from AIDS in 2004, and my most treasured life experiences include the memories of the journey with him being his caregiver. His family was unhelpful in his care, later coming for the material resources, but they could not take my memories of being by his side through his journey to his return to spirit. I hold my head high knowing I did right by Tom. It has been challenging to rebuild financially since then. LGBTQ persons had zero legal rights in 2004, and now, the rights for which we fought so hard and won in 2015 are again at risk. My husband and I have ensured that each of us is legally protected in the event of the other’s passing. It is a shame that although our marriage grants us certain legalities, having a home to live in after the other’s passing is even on our minds. I have seen the difficulties the LGBTQ community faces, not just in love and marriage, but in other areas. I have witnessed both the coming together of people within the community and the ostracizing of community members by others in the community. Now, I get to live and lead by example and as the voice of experience. I will use my education and experiences as a gay man to effectuate positive change in society by coaching those LGBTQ persons coming up behind me, and I am considering a career change to becoming a Director of DE&I or consultant. One encouraging mindset I have experienced is at school where I am older than most of my counterparts’ parents, and this generation of eighteen to twenty-three-year-olds are some of the most progressive minds I have seen. They give me faith in and hope for the future. Your scholarship would certainly be greatly appreciated, and I would be so very humbled to receive it; however, I also know that others might be more in need. I do pay cash, and for some semesters I attend part-time, but my goal is to complete my undergraduate degree by the Spring of 2025. I attend Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO where I have a 4.0 GPA. I appreciate you reading about my experiences, and I thank you for your consideration in awarding me your scholarship.

My name is Jim Hooley, and I am a fifty-two-year life experienced man who thirty years after receiving my two-year degree, has returned to college to pursue my four-year degree in Gender and Sexuality Studies. I’m enrolled at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO, and upon successful completion of the Fall 2021 semester, I will be a junior. I am working hard, performing well, and I expect to have a 3.9 or 4.0 GPA at the conclusion of the term. Planning on enrolling in two to four classes per semester, I will be fifty-five or fifty-six when I graduate. I am already considering pursuing my master’s degree in Sociology upon completion of my bachelor’s degree. My enthusiasm is boundless! In my twenties, I climbed the corporate ladder, but once I “came out,” my gay intersectionality became the invisible derogatory mark for me in the workplace, and I experienced quiet forms of harassment and hostile work environments. School wasn’t on my radar during this period. In my thirties, I met the first love of my life, we were together four and a half years, the last eighteen months of which I was his caregiver, and I journeyed with him almost to his life’s close from AIDS. Six weeks prior to Tom’s passing, I was removed from our home, and I was threatened legally regarding attending his funeral. I understand the feeling of dying from a broken heart because I nearly did. I was also naïve. What happened to me would never cross my mind to do to another, so I never considered his family would do what they did to me. Through and after that experience, I certainly did not have the mental capacity or the financial resources to consider attending school. From my thirties into my mid-forties I reconciled the past and rebuilt my life including financially. It’s taken seventeen years and sometimes working three jobs to regain some financial footing. It was another period when resources, especially time, were extremely limited, but through it, I learned to live in optimism and gratitude. In September 2020, my husband received an offer to relocate to Colorado, and our current situation provides us a wonderful opportunity to live with less debt, which affords us the opportunity for my return to college. I elected Gender and Sexuality Studies with a Sociology minor for my degree program because of its newness and how fascinated I am by the subject matter. My life experience and this degree make me a perfect candidate to later become a Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or a consultant in workplace diversity. My counterparts are thirty years younger than me, yet they are open to what I share from my life experiences. Conversely, I very much enjoy hearing about their experiences and learning their perspectives. Their youthfulness is such a gift to me and is so motivating! My school life is making for an exceptionally exciting growth period! Attempting to avoid loans, I am paying cash for this degree. Scholarships will subsidize my out-of-pocket costs. I paid the out-of-state rate for Summer and Fall 2021 with the total being around $15,000. I see the bigger picture; however, that my out-of-state tuition rate this first year may provide funds to the college to help pay for another student with less resources, and this perspective mitigates the sting of my recent costs. In closing, I thank you for your kindness in offering this scholarship, and I am extremely grateful for your consideration in awarding me this scholarship to invest in my future and in the future of those I meet.