Due April 1st, 2024
INTRODUCTION
Here at the Southwest Wisconsin Rainbow Alliance (SWRA), we understand the obstacles and discriminations students Queer identifying face in both their communities and education systems. As advocates for the LGBTQ+ community, we have created an LGBTQ+ scholarship fund in Southwest Wisconsin as an initiative to give students with these identities the opportunity to share their stories. We want Queer students and fervent allies in southwest Wisconsin to understand that they are an important part of our community, and their voices should be heard. We are not looking for the student with the highest academic achievements, nor are we looking for students with impressive resumes; but rather, this scholarship was established to give LGBTQ+ students and allies in the community the opportunity to share their story and experience while growing up with their Queer identity or allyship.
PRIVACY POLICY
We understand that many students who are Queer identifying may not be out to their families, friends, and/or communities. We do not want this to be a barrier for applying to our scholarship; thus, your story, name, and identity will be kept completely confidential upon request. Your information will not be shared outside of the SWRA Board members, and you are not obligated to share your identity on any of our media outlets. If you are a recipient of this scholarship and request confidentially, we will send you the funds under “ SWRA Community Scholarship.”
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
1. You must identify as part of the LGBTQ+ spectrum, or a ally.
2. You must be an incoming student during the 2024-2025 academic year at an undergraduate university.
3. You must be a current resident in one of the following counties; Grant, Iowa, Lafayette, Richland, or Crawford.
4. You must originate from a community college, high school, continuation school, or nontraditional G.E.D school from Grant County, Iowa County, Lafayette County, Richland County, or Crawford County.
SUBMISSIONS
Please provide the following:
- One letter of recommendation.
- A 650-word autobiography.
- A 250-word goals and aspirations response.
LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION
There are two required letters of recommendation. You are NOT obligated to disclose information about your personal identity to the individual who is writing your letter of recommendation. If you are asked what it is for and are not comfortable saying the title of the scholarship, you may simply refer to it as a scholarship for “Southwest Wisconsin Community Scholarship”. In this letter of recommendation, we are looking to obtain insight on your work ethic and respect in your environments. Your teachers, counselors, and employers are welcome to write this letter.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Write an autobiography describing your Queer experience in Southwest Wisconsin. This prompt is very open-ended, and you may write about anything that relates to your experience as an individual that identifies with the LGBTQ+ community or how your allyship became a focus for you. You may choose to include any obstacles or barriers that you may have faced or struggled with your gender identity and/or sexual identity. Most importantly, we would like you to view this as an opportunity to share your story because we all have one and it deserves to be heard. We are not looking for a perfect grammatical structure, nor are we looking for an extravagant resume. We simply want you to share your story through the perspective of an LGBTQ+ individual or ally (650-word maximum).
GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS
Please describe your goals and aspirations and how you wish to achieve them. (250-word maximum).