I first met Alex, who is FTM trans, when he enrolled in my high school 11th grade English class this year. Alex has a story. He is from a very conservative, religious, and loving family. His path led him from a Catholic private school to an academic magnet high school. At this point, his gender dysphoria sent his family and him into an emotional and financial tailspin. He worked with a great team to emerge from turmoil, and now, he is a pretty happy guy.

Since Alex arrived at our school, he has transformed our awareness of gender and diversity issues. He has worked to make everyone feel welcome. He's a compassionate leader on our campus. Recently, Alex applied and was accepted to the ACLU Summer Advocacy Program (https://www.aclu.org/issues/aclu-summer-institute). He was awarded a partial scholarship, but he needs additional financial assistance to get to DC this summer.

Alex is excited about the opportunity to interact with other like-minded young people who have a passion for social justice, policy development, campus organization, and advocacy. We are excited for Alex to experience all that the ACLU and DC have to offer.  Alex's kindness, fairness and unconditional acceptance of others coupled with the ACLU training will enhance our school, community, plus his future endeavors in college and beyond.