CNM Nursing Student Awarded Prestigious LGBTQ Scholarship

Felix Giglio knows exactly what he wants to do with his nursing degree. 

For the past several years, Felix, 23, has worked with homeless populations here in New Mexico and up in the Pacific Northwest. Time and again he’s seen people walk into drop-in centers with health problems that could have been easily treated with better access to healthcare.

“When I graduate I want to continue working with these populations in the context of healthcare because I want to provide better care,” Felix says. “Everyone deserves access.”

Now, Felix will have some help toward that goal. Just recently he became one of a few, select community college students to be awarded the Point Foundation’s Community College Scholarship. The scholarship will provide financial assistance and other academic assets as he enters the CNM/UNM Dual Degree Nursing program in the fall.

The scholarship Felix received was specifically designed to help LGBTQ community college students graduate with an associate degree and/or transfer to a four-year university. It provides between $2,000-$4,800 in tuition scholarship funding each year, as well as things like a personal coach, financial education, and access to the Point Foundation’s network of LGBTQ scholars.

According to the foundation, “Point's scholarship recipients are talented students with a proven track record of leading in their local and academic communities through their activism, advocacy, and organizing. In addition to their fearless leadership, they have battled obstacles including immigration status, homelessness, family rejection, and abuse. Each one of them has the dedication and resilience to meet this moment in history and make change across the country.”

Out of this year’s recipients, 69 percent identify as people of color or bi/multiracial, 27 percent identify as transgender or gender nonconforming, and 58 percent are first-generation college students. Point also awards scholarships to four-year and graduate students, so for the 2020–2021 academic year, 134 LGBTQ students will receive financial assistance and programmatic support.

Applying wasn’t easy. Felix says he filled out a rigorous application, then had to send in a video and finally went through an online interview. Of course he was thrilled to receive the scholarship and is excited to start classes. 

“I really think the Point Foundation is a great group of people and I love that they’ve created such a strong community of support for LGBTQ students,” he says. 

Find out more about the Point Foundation.