Out on Bay Street launches scholarship program

Awards will recognize excellence in queer students across the country


Out On Bay Street, a Toronto organization founded to connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and ally post-secondary students across Canada, is introducing two scholarships for emerging queer students.

The initiative – the LGBTQA Scholarship Awards – aims to support developing leaders in the community.

“The awards recognize excellence in the LGBTQA student community across Canada,” says Out On Bay Street’s president, Michael Mirpuri. “The purpose is to not only provide students with the financial resources that they need to achieve their goals, but also to inspire students to be active leaders in their community and to identify role models among Canada’s LGBTQA youth.”

Out On Bay Street is accepting applications through its student portal until July 31. The awards are open to all Canadian college and university undergraduates and graduates, Collège d’enseignement général et professionnel students, and other post-secondary students enrolled in accredited programs who have completed at least one year of study.

Most importantly, Mirpuri says, “recipients must have exemplified leadership, at minimum, in the LGBTQA community and personal and academic success.”

The two award recipients will be selected by an independent committee of professionals and community leaders and will receive scholarships of $2,500, which will be presented at the Scholarship Awards Reception taking place Sat, Sept, 21.

Out On Bay Street seeks to build a community of young queer professionals. Its flagship event is an annual conference of workshops, education opportunities and a career exhibition, while its Leaders to Be Proud of Awards highlight lifetime achievements and community contributions. It also hosts monthly networking social events.

“In the coming month, we will also launch our National Ambassador Program to support our expansion goals and bursary subsidies for travel and accommodation for event delegates,” Mirpuri says. “We are continually interested in hearing from individuals that would like to get involved in our organization.”

For more information, visit outonbayst.org or email info@outonbayst.org.

Michael Lyons is a queer-identified, chaotic neutral writer, activist, misanthrope, sapiosexual, and feline enthusiast. He is a columnist, blogger and regular contributor with Xtra and has contributed to Plenitude Magazine, KAPSULA Magazine, Crew Magazine, Memory Insufficient e-zine, The Ryersonian, Buddies Theatre blog, Toronto Is Awesome blog and Fab Magazine and more.

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Power, News, Toronto, Canada, Youth, Education

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