Name: Seth Owen
Who he is: Youth ambassador for the Human Rights Campaign and president at Unbroken Horizons Scholarship Foundation, Inc.
How he’s made a difference: After being disowned by parents and having his college fund yanked for coming out, the 18-year-old high school valedictorian from Florida still found a way to make his academic dreams a reality.
Owen scraped together the money needed to attend Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., through a combination of financial aid, GoFundMe donations, and $25,000 from Ellen DeGeneres. That was impressive enough. But once he got there, he landed an internship with Rep. Stephanie Murphy’s (D-FL) and began an internship with the Human Rights Campaign. It was not long before he realized that even as his parents rejected him, he could choose his own queer family for the support he needs to succeed and be happy.
Why we’re proud: Owens embodies the fighting spirit so many of the founders of our movement possessed. He’s smart, tenacious, and able to find creative ways of overcoming even the most difficult of obstacles. He also gives back. His battle may have started out about his own fight for college after his parents shunned him, but it ended up being about all kids who struggle with familial rejection.
After his story went viral, Owens raised more than enough money needed to attend Georgetown, so he launched a scholarship fund called the Unbroken Horizons Scholarship Foundation, designed to help students from marginalized communities attend secondary education.
Welcome to Queerty’s Pride50. We’re celebrating the members from our community who are responsible for some of the most inspiring and extraordinary moments for LGBTQ people over the last year. See all the honorees
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
1 Timothy 5:8
8 Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Seth: GOOD ON YOU!
Seth’s “Family”:. You “good Christians” Are an abhorrent, vile group of smcubags. YOU ARE ALL GOING STRAIGHT TO HELL!!!
Franco
Ignorance knows no bounds. There is a special place in hell for people who turn against their children. I am so proud of this young man. He has proven he can do whatever he sets his mind to.
fur_hunter
What astounds me are those who refuse the factual information from medical professionals of today regarding homosexuality yet totally believe in verses from a book written by MEN over 1500 years ago. God had NOTHING to do with that book. Anyone who says He did,…..PROVE IT!!! And who told you it’s the word of God? The church? Other MEN? MEN LIE!!! Get it???? Men twist EVERYTHING for their own gain and power. And there are so many errors and mistakes in that book that if God actually had anything to do with it, God is a TOTAL MORON. The earth and universe were NOT created in 6 days….IDIOTS!!!! It took BILLIONS OF YEARS!!!! And THAT is right at the very beginning of that stupid book. Get it yet? And that’s just ONE example. Shall I continue? I guess you get my point.
jcoberkrom
Maybe this should be the next LGBT issue.
Setting up support networks for these youth. No not the piecemeal we have now but a national organization that helps not only kids in San Francisco, but also Mountain Home, AR.
And this support helps with grants for moving out and moving on. Scholarships for college and trade school.
And above all letting these kids know that they are not the problem. They were unlucky to have parents who failed miserably, but they can and will make their own family.
Who said god is love???
fur_hunter
There is a group called The Trevor Project in New York that is a place for gays to go when they have been kicked out or are homeless. Google them and check them out.
fur_hunter
So many people are SO IGNORANT and REFUSE to acce[pt the unbiased and legitimate information regarding homosexuality since 1973 that gays are born GAY! They much rather belive verses in a book written by men over 1500 years ago. YES! MEN!!! God had NOTHING to do with it. My question to these MORONS is this. Would you go to a doctor who uses a medical book written over 1500 years ago to treat his patients? HYPOCRITES!!! My priest told me this some 40 years ago when I was dealing with who I was. “Thornton. The first question of Catechism is this. ‘Who made us?’ And the answer is. ‘God made us.’ God made you EXACTLY the way He wanted you to be. So. Anyone who says you are wrong is saying God made a mistake. God does NOT make mistakes. He wanted you to be just as you are.” Yes. A Catholic priest told me that. He is now a Monsignor and I still communicate with him. A truly wonderful and caring man.