GLBA Annual Scholarship Awards

The long-established Gay and Lesbian Business Association (GLBA) presented its annual scholarship award at the Pacific Pride Foundation’s 51st anniversary event for the second year in a row, Saturday, August 22, at Chase Palm Park in Santa Barbara.

The GLBA scholarship chair is John Chufar, a third-generation Realtor and a past president of the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors. He is a recipient of the Realtor of the Year Award and, in 2019, the Howard Gates Award. The scholarship committee members are Mike Brock, Robert Johns, Chris Curry, Carlos Ojeda, Robert Wieger, Doug Van Pelt and Jonathan Alburger, and GLBA Co-founder Terry Leftgoff.

Since 1983, the GLBA has awarded more than $177,000 in scholarships to students pursuing educational opportunities in Santa Barbara County. The funding for the scholarships comes from its members and their endowments, namely the Gary Michael Mosel Scholarship Endowment, the Stephen Logan Memorial Scholarship Endowment, the Claude Raffin Scholarship Fund in memory of Jon Gathercole, the Carl Joseph Adelhardt Memorial Scholarship Endowment and the Robert L. Johns Vocational Scholarship Endowment.

The GLBA statement on its commitment to providing scholarships is, “GLBA’s scholarships provide vital financial support while offering encouragement, recognition and community to the LGBTQ+ students facing personal, financial or social challenges. Through this program, the GLBA reaffirms a simple message. You are valued, your achievements matter, and we believe in your future.”

Chufar said, “The GLBA is proud to announce the selection of Kai Ingraham as the scholarship winner of $12,000 for the second consecutive year. We congratulate Kai on this outstanding achievement and are honored to support their continued educational journey and future success. Kai just completed their first year in Santa Clara University’s counseling psychology graduate program with an LGBTQ+ emphasis, maintaining a 4.0 GPA. In addition, they have been privileged to be part of a research team with SCU’s Department of Public Health, examining the experiences of transgender and gender diverse folks in higher education. Findings of the research will be published later this year. Next year, with continued research, the team hopes to work with Santa Clara’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, serving the mental health needs of the Bay Area queer community.”

Upon receiving their scholarship award, Kai shared, “I am truly grateful to the GLBA organization for awarding me this scholarship. Your generous support will help me continue my education and pursue my goals. Thank you for investing in my future and for making this opportunity possible. I sincerely appreciate your generosity and support.” Kai added, “I am where I’m meant to be. On my first day of class, my professor told us that there are some jobs you do, and some jobs you become. I am becoming a therapist, one who will be able to help other queer people like I’ve been helped, and I feel so lucky for that opportunity.”  

411: https://glbasb.com