Local student strives for success with national scholarship

By Jen Colletta
PGN Staff Writer
© 2008 Philadelphia Gay News

Although Geoff Mino is unsure what his career path is going to be, he is certain that he wants to continue his already-impressive record of LGBT activism.

Mino, a recent graduate of New Hope-Solebury High School, is one of 27 students named as a 2008 Point Foundation Scholar.

In addition to providing scholarship money to each recipient, nonprofit Point Foundation also offers leadership training, professional guidance and mentoring to the students, all of whom have exhibited persistence and determination to succeed despite being marginalized by their sexual orientation, gender expression or gender identity.

Mino, 18, a native of Yonkers, N.Y., moved to Bucks County about 10 years ago. He started his high-school education at Holy Ghost Preparatory School, but transferred to New Hope-Solebury for his junior and senior years.

Mino said his coming-out process has stretched across a number of years.

“It’s something I kind of always knew but didn’t really have the cultural reinforcement to recognize it in myself until I was about 12 or 13,” Mino said. “I started coming out in eighth grade and then finished up by junior year.”

Although Mino’s transfer to New Hope-Solebury was motivated mostly by his desire to pursue an art-centered curriculum that Holy Ghost did not offer, he said his desire to be in a school environment in which he could be open about his sexuality was also a factor.

“Holy Ghost was an all-boys private school. There was never any overt discrimination, but the real oppression came in the silence surrounding LGBTQ issues, which was in some ways more difficult to deal with,” he said. “It was certainly not a comfortable environment in which to be young and gay.”

As soon as Mino arrived at New Hope-Solebury, he joined the school’s gay-straight alliance, Spectrum. Mino’s leadership skills were quickly evinced, and he was elected president of the group during his senior year.

Mino also is a member of the LGBT youth group Rainbow Room at Planned Parenthood Association of Bucks County.

Mino’s involvement in the LGBT community caught the eye of Equality Forum organizers, who asked him to be a member of the 11th annual James Wheeler National Youth Panel at the May event.

“It was so fantastic,” Mino said of taking part in the panel. “Any time I have an opportunity to increase visibility for the community is a wonderful thing.”

Mino said he believes young LBGT people have a responsibility to not only be involved in the LGBT-rights movement, but also to take on leadership roles.

“Time doesn’t change things, it’s the people in an era that make motions happen,” Mino said. “You see the world before you and you’re still filled with this youthful ambition; it’s such a huge justice issue that I can’t even imagine sitting back and doing nothing. Young people have to realize what’s at stake and go out and continue the great legacy that other people have left us; it’d be a shame to have all of their hard work go to waste.”

Mino said he first learned of the Point Foundation from an advertisement in The Advocate during his freshman year, which he kept in the back of his mind until he started applying to colleges.

The scholarships are renewable each year and the average scholarship for each student is $13,600.

Mino said he was “elated” when he was notified that he was chosen to be part of the program, and noted that being a Point Foundation Scholar will afford him innumerable benefits.

“The scholarship is great because the cost of attending Brown [University] would have been financially prohibitive, so that’s really a huge help. Also, the Point Foundation will provide me with a mentor who will give me career and life guidance, and I understand that the relationship between mentor and mentee is very close, so I hope to get a lot out of that. I’m really excited for all of the career-building opportunities this will give me.”

Mino will start his education at Brown University in the fall and is hoping to focus his studies on language, visual arts and queer studies. While his career plans are not definite, he said he would be interested in working in LGBT public relations and media outreach, something he said was inspired by his involvement with the Point Foundation.

“My favorite part of everything is really just being with the other Foundation members; I feel so supported and it’s great being in a really open and accepting environment.”

Larry Nichols can be reached at larry@epgn.com.