The Jean Hopkins
Memorial Scholarship

Our scholarship program was established in 2021 and consists of an annual $500 award to help aid in the costs of pursuing educational opportunities beyond high school. This scholarship is aimed primarily at benefiting those LGBTQ+ young adults, and allies, who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing social justice, reducing inequities, and increasing the overall health of their community.

The Jean Hopkins Memorial Scholarship was established in memory of Jean Hopkins, a life-long resident of Niagara Falls and fierce advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. Jean devoted her life to helping other people, from helping her friends and relatives with projects around their houses, to being active in church and community activities, to working with several LGBTQ+ organizations. She served on the Board of Trustees at First Congregational United Church of Christ, as a Deacon at Riverside Presbyterian Church, and as President of the Eagles Club. Jean became involved with the Heart, Love and Soul soup kitchen and food pantry which was the organization she was most honored to serve.

Jean Hopkins was a founding Board of Director of Niagara Pride and was particularly proud of the organization’s work to assist LGBTQ+ youth and with its work with Niagara County churches. Jean Hopkins made Western New York and particularly Niagara County, a more inclusive community, and a better place for all people to live and be respected.

Applicant Criteria:

We invite all students that meet the following criteria to apply:

Must be 18 years of age, or able to provide parental consent to apply for the scholarship;
Currently a senior in high school with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 or a minimum B average;
Must be pursuing full-time registration for the fall semester of the 2024-2025 school year at an accredited community college, four-year public or private college or university, certificate program, or vocational/technical/trade program;
Identify as LGBTQ+ and/or has demonstrated support of the LGBTQ+ community; and
Reside in Western New York (Niagara, Erie, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Wyoming, Genesee, and Orleans counties)

Application Requirements / In order for the application to be considered complete, you will need to:

Submit via email to the Scholarship Committee (info@niagarapride.org) all of the following documents:
Resume detailing work experience, extracurricular activities, and volunteering experience
Unofficial high school transcript that includes the first semester of the 2023-2024 school year
Proof of acceptance and enrollment in the 2024-2025 school year at an accredited community college, four-year public or private college or university, certificate program, or vocational/technical/trade program;
Complete the online application, where you will be asked to complete three short essays from a list of 10 essay topic choices
Sit for a 30-minute interview, in person or via zoom call.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: APRIL 30, 2024

To Apply, Click Here:

https://forms.office.com/r/URSmp0X7tw

2023 Winners:

Niagara Pride, Inc. presented the Jean Hopkins Memorial Scholarship to Abdullah Moin, of Bennett High School in Buffalo, NY, and Bryn Dewey, of North Tonawanda High School.

This year had a number of strong and deserving applicants, however, the Board of Directors of Niagara Pride were incredibly impressed by Moin and Dewey’s accomplishments, character, and commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.

Dewey was president of North Tonawanda High School’s GSA organization. In that role, Dewey helped create and present educational topics to the group’s members. Recognizing the need for a safe and personal space for transgender and gender non-conforming students, Dewey advocated for the creation of a gender-neutral bathroom at the school, resulting in the school board approving the implementation of this plan. This will be the first gender-neutral bathroom in the school.

Inspired by the pioneering work of Dr. Stanley H. Biber in the field of sex reassignment surgery and transgender healthcare, Dewey stated, “It is my goal to continue Dr. Biber’s crusade and be a catalyst to bring about change in terms of mitigating the dysphoria of trans people, by not only advocating for our community, but by spearheading innovative practices to modernize and transform this field of medicine. Overall, I am extremely excited at the prospect of a career in medicine and look forward to dedicating my services to the WNY’s trans community in this capacity.” While in high school, Dewey has been volunteering with the Skilled Nursing Facility in order to gain clinical healthcare experience.

Moin only recently moved the WNY area, but already made a big impact on this school and the community. He joined the Bennett High School Diversity Club and as a member urged the group to use the money allocated for the purchase of pride gear for the students at the school to purchase pride items that could be sold with monies raised going to a local LGBTQ+ nonprofit. Moin and his peers raised over $300. Through his actions, Moin demonstrated a great deal of selflessness and concern for the greater WNY LGBTQ+ community.

In his scholarship essay, Moin spoke about the challenges growing up in a religious household and how his friends were a great support for not only him, but for one another, as he learned about himself through his journey of self-discovery. Moin plans to pursue a career in astronomy and already is demonstrating an incredibly insightful view of the world, by saying, “There are so many paths that could diverge throughout a person's life with both failures and accomplishments. However, by the end of it, if that person knows they have changed the world for the better. They have made a positive impact on the world in such a unique way, no one but themselves could have done it, just by going through the world with the end goal of changing it. No matter how big or small, no matter how much or how little they achieved in comparison to others, just from the knowledge they know they have made the world a better place than when they found it, is what makes a successful person.”

Congratulations to both of this year's winners!

Bryn Dewey receiving the scholarship award.

Abdullah Moin receiving the scholarship award.

2022 Winner:

Niagara Pride, Inc. is thrilled to announce that it awarded its inaugural Jean Hopkins Memorial Scholarship to Genevieve Harris of Appleton, NY in July 2022.

Harris was selected based on her commitment and dedication to the LGBTQ+ community, through her actions of creating a GSA at her high school despite the obstacles posed by a global pandemic. Harris also worked to educate others in her community about LGBTQ+ terminology through the creation of display cases at her local school. Her efforts helped bring about a safe and welcoming environment for current and future students.

Harris will be attending Alfred State College in the Fall of 2022, pursing a degree in Radiology Technology.

“It is such a great honor to receive the Jean Hopkins Memorial Scholarship. It can so often feel like what you do is never enough, and that your best efforts have little impact. This award is so much more to me than just another scholarship. It’s proof that my efforts are making a difference, and that kids like me can have success in all that they do,” said Harris.

Harris added, “[This is an] incredible honor that my founding of the GSA, and therefore the club as a whole, has received…it not only means a lot to me, but to every queer kid in Barker who has struggled with acceptance.”