19 STUDENTS LIVING WITH HIV RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THEIR EDUCATION
Over the course of one to two years, the 2022 cohort of HIV League Scholars will collectively be receiving $85,500 of scholarship monies towards their studies
The HIV League, a nonprofit organization working to empower the HIV community through scholarship, wellness, and education, just selected nineteen students as their 2022 cohort of Scholars to receive an HIV League Scholarship. These 19 Scholars have shown how promising they are as students living with HIV through their educational accomplishments, leadership, and service.
By implementing the only national scholarship for students living with HIV, The HIV League naturally works to bring higher educational equity among students who are a part of this community. Because of the many intersectionalities individuals in the HIV community hold, the HIV League Scholarship also works to bring higher educational equity among LGBTQIA2S+ students, students who identify as a woman, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People Of Color) students as well. Also, within the 2022 HIV League Scholarship, The HIV League implemented the Trans BIPOC scholarship initiative, which dedicated at least $10,000 of scholarship monies to BIPOC trans-identifying students living with HIV. Through this initiative, The HIV League has dedicated $10,500 of scholarship monies to two trans-identifying students living with HIV who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or a person of color.
The HIV League would like to note that there are many reasons why HIV-related stigma still exists today, including reasons that are rooted in homophobia, transphobia, racism, and misogyny. Because of this stigma people living with HIV still experience, many of our Scholars have humbly requested to remain anonymous regarding their scholarship award. We owe it to our Scholars to respect their wishes, which is why many of the identities of the 2022 HIV League Scholar cohort are not disclosed.
The HIV League is ecstatic to work with the 2022 HIV League Scholars who have already shown an unlimited amount of potential as leaders in their local communities, the global community, as well as the HIV community. Please read more about them below along with visiting www.hivleague.org to learn more about The HIV League and their scholarship for students living with HIV.
2022 HIV League Scholars who are full-time students who will be receiving $7,000 over the course of two years
Jennifer Barnes-Balenciaga – New York, NY – Borough of Manhattan Community College – She/Her
Jennifer Barnes-Balenciaga, soon to be Mrs. McQueen, was an 11-year resident of the city of Atlanta and has recently moved to Manhattan. As the first LGBTQ+ liaison in Atlanta, Georgia as appointed by State Representative Park Cannon of District 58 in January 2018, Jennifer Barnes-Balenciaga has been the contributor to many Atlanta political and governmental legislation like HB290, has been an AIDSWatch Atlanta representative, has collaborated to commemorate many Georgia LGBTQ+ leaders, including Miss Lawrence Balenciaga, and helps lead many queer movements within her community (World AIDS Day events, HIV testing initiatives, Black/LGBTQ+ Pride/rallies, etc.). She is currently the Director of the Crystal La’Beija Organizing Fellowship (CLOF), was an on-the-ground HIV Prevention Specialist and continues to act as a volunteer around many HIV-related initiatives. Jennifer has also been a Youth Policy HIV Advisor for Georgia Equality and has presented at many HIV-related conferences such as NAESM, USCA, and even at congressional gatherings through AIDSWatch. Jennifer takes part in all of these initiatives while being undetectable and thriving since 2011. Barnes-Balenciaga hails from Cincinnati, Ohio and holds numerous organizational and committee affiliations, including Vice President of Cincinnati Black Pride, Social Media Committee Chair for Sankofa Black Women’s Conference, and is a member of the illustrious House of Balenciaga, a leading institution in the House and Ballroom Scene.
Christian Bonilla – Newark, NJ – Montclair State University – He/Him
The Eagle New York Sponsored HIV League Scholarship
Christian Bonilla is currently a student at Montclair State University seeking a degree in Psychology and Social Work. He chose his major after entering recovery and developed a passion for wellness and service. He hopes to one day be able to work with LGBT+ Centers in Urban areas to provide services to queer people, specifically young queer people experiencing homelessness and drug addiction.
Eunice Esther – Winchester, VA – Howard University – She/Her
Eunice Esther is a first-generation college student born in Cameroon, Africa, and raised in Virginia. Eunice is a Criminology and Afro-American history major at Howard University. Eunice works for several non-profit organizations like Driven Student Guide, Advocates for Youth, and Petey Greene Program. Eunice dedicates her time to working for Advocates for Youth's Engaging Communities around HIV Organizing (ECHO), a first-of-its-kind council of youth activists living with HIV who are actively organizing online and in their communities. In addition, Eunice is a National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day Ambassador and has lobbied policymakers to support H.R.1305 - REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act of 2021. She has participated in various panels as an advocate of comprehensive and medically accurate sex education and HIV education. Eunice dreams of working as a human sex trafficking lawyer and partnering with global organizations like The United Nations and UNICEF. Some of Eunice's hobbies include hanging out with friends, reading, and watching endless episodes of Law-and-Order SVU. Most of the time, Eunice is at home, lying on her bed or exploring the city of DC. As a young woman, Eunice has had to maneuver her way through coping living with HIV and all the strife that comes with it, but through all of this, she has enjoyed the way such experiences shaped her.
Noël Gaskin – Brooklyn, NY – Columbia University – He/Him
Noël initiated his work for positive change as a student activist at SUNY-Old Westbury, where, as a senior and brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, INC., he led a high-profile protest to restore faculty and funding for performing arts. As a black male social entrepreneur living with HIV, Noël learned to think fiercely and unapologetically about same-gender-loving men, health, masculinity, sexual behavior, and families. A resident of Brooklyn, New York, and a native of Trinidad & Tobago, Noël has actively served in the not-for-profit and public sectors in professional roles related to health care and education. In addition, Noël's work entailed using instructional technology design, art therapy, yoga, and forming a Young Men's Advisory Group for the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice.
Completing his Master's in Social Work with his specialization in Leadership, Management, & Entrepreneurship for Social Justice is a step toward fulfilling his life's work: recognizing the need for social equity, empowering himself and others, and leveraging resources to make necessary changes happen for the betterment of his community.
Delton Harris – Richmond, VA – Virginia Commonwealth University – He/They
Delton is an upcoming fourth-year PhD student in the Healthcare Policy and Research program at Virginia Commonwealth University. He was born and raised in Durham, NC, and earned his bachelor's and master's degree in social work from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Since earning his Master of Social Work (MSW) degree, Delton has spent much of his time earning his licensure and practicing as a licensed psychotherapist in NC and VA, specifically working with Black and Latin individuals, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and individuals diagnosed with HIV. Additionally, Delton has prioritized researching, training, and educating mental and physical health practitioners regarding best practices to engage and treat transgender individuals.
Delton's transition to health policy was never part of his life plan. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), he has experience working with clients in multiple capacities (case management, mental health, HIV) and with underrepresented communities (racial, gender, and sexual orientation). His work with these clients highlighted the importance of inclusivity in policy and its implementation, in agency and legislation, and its impact on patients' access to and utilization of care (health, mental, and otherwise) and providers' level of cultural competency. As a mental health provider, he was often invited into medical environments as a consultant or clients' advocator to assist with client-provider communication, for example, providing education, language, and engagement methods to decrease hesitancy in providing care to or attending medical appointments with sexual and gender minorities (SGM). These experiences motivated him to return to academia as a doctoral student to increase policy and program evaluation skills and apply them to preventive HIV care interventions. I focus on transgender individuals and their access to and inclusion in healthcare recommendations. As a doctoral student, I am developing my research program, investigating if generalized healthcare recommendations are inclusive of transgender individuals.
As a Black, gay male living with HIV and a mental health provider, he has a unique perspective and curiosity about health care disparities and policies, leading him to ask about and investigate healthcare, behaviors, relationships, and solutions. Delton is preparing his dissertation on examining the equity in the current HIV testing guidelines and access to culturally component HIV testing.
Full-Time Biological Sciences Student – Orlando, FL
Henry Schein Cares Sponsored HIV League Scholarship
Because of the nature of the HIV League Scholarship, recipients have the option to not make their name public. This HIV League Scholar requested to keep their name private, and we are respecting their wishes.
Full-Time Prevention Science & Community Health Student – Miami, FL
Because of the nature of the HIV League Scholarship, recipients have the option to not make their name public. This HIV League Scholar requested to keep their name private, and we are respecting their wishes.
2022 HIV League Scholars who are full-time students and will be receiving $3,500 over the course of one year
Jeff Cain – El Paso, TX – University of Texas at El Paso – He/Him
Jeff is a California native, currently living in Texas to complete his Bachelor's in Nursing. His goal is to go on to pursue his Family Nurse Practitioner degree soon after. The current trajectory would be to focus on infectious diseases and working with the public. “After my diagnosis, I felt compelled and drawn to medicine. I want to bring the same compassionate care I received to my patients and make a real impact for the LGBTQ+ community.” Prior to starting his education full time, Jeff spent much of his time working with various nonprofits, raising money for HIV/AIDS-related services & advocacy groups. He has volunteered as a multi-year rider for AIDS/Life Cycle (a 7-day fundraising bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles) which raises money for the Los Angeles LGBT Center & the San Francisco AIDS Project. In 2018 he raised money and traveled to Zambia to work with Chooda & World Bicycle Relief, nonprofits that fundraise to support better access to education and healthcare in underserved countries. As a vocal advocate for sobriety, he also works within the intersection of the recovery community volunteering at rehab facilities & homeless shelters. These days, he is pretty consumed with clinical rotations and hitting the books. In his free time, Jeff enjoys cooking, cycling, and spending time with his two crazy dogs Duke & Ella.
Luis Restrepo – Sarasota, FL – University of South Florida – He/Him
Luis is forever curious. He is curious about the cultures and people of this world. This led him to travel around the world visiting over thirty countries. He went south to Patagonia, climbed the Himalayas, and dived deep into the Philippine Sea. He learned along the way that within our broad diversity, there is an intrinsic alikeness. After all, a smile is still a smile in every corner of the earth. Luis is forever curious and has always embraced the creative self. This led him to pursue a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Theatre from the University of Florida. He spent the past six years teaching students from around the world the art of language through the magic of music and theatre.
Luis is forever curious about the potential his life has. This is why he is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing at the University of South Florida. Inspired by the same nurse who took care of him in a time of need, he now aims to give back to his community. His upbringing as a Latino in America, his experiences traveling around the world, and the joy and inspiration his students have had on him ignite a passion and a desire to eventually become a Nursing educator and foster a new generation of caregivers.
Martez Smith – New York, NY – University of Rochester – He/Him
Martez is a doctoral candidate in Nursing and Health Science at the University of Rochester School of Nursing. He holds a Bachelor of Social Work from The Ohio State University and a Master of Social Work from Long Island University Brooklyn. His research interests include addressing racial, sexual, and gender minority health disparities through community-driven, asset-based interventions. In addition to conducting research, Martez works alongside a nationwide cadre of activists, organizing for social justice with the Keeping Ballroom Community Alive Network (KBCAN), which he co-founded in 2015.
Since 2010, Martez has worked on numerous health and social welfare initiatives, starting as an HIV case management intern in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Martez has since worked as an HIV test counselor, research assistant/coordinator on HIV and sexual health studies, consultant on national and state HIV awareness campaigns, and aided with the startup of the Office of Supportive/Affordable Housing and Services (OSAHS), an innovative initiative to procure 15,000 units of supportive housing in NYC. These experiences led to his role as the Community Co-Chair of the Ending the Epidemic Task Force Black MSM Subcommittee, leading the implementation of recommendations to improve HIV care continuum outcomes for Black MSM across New York State. In 2021, Martez was awarded a National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health to support his dissertation research, which explores motivations for sexual health among Black and Latinx men who have sex with men in New York City's house ball community. Martez is also a fellow in the Brown Community and Clinical Research Training (CCRT) Program. CCRT aims to train the next generation of researchers to end the HIV epidemic and to conduct research related to reducing racial disparities in HIV outcomes.
In his spare time, Martez enjoys traveling, reading, cooking, and spending time with family. He has also participated in the house/ballroom community since 2009, currently a member of the House of Xclusive-Lanvin in mainstream ballroom and a member of the House of Hua Mulan in Kiki ballroom.
Martez is excited to be a third-time HIV League Scholar.
Full-Time Ballet Performance Student – Cincinnati, OH
Because of the nature of the HIV League Scholarship, recipients have the option to not make their name public. This HIV League Scholar requested to keep their name private, and we are respecting their wishes.
Full-Time Psychology of Clinical Research Student – Raleigh, NC
Because of the nature of the HIV League Scholarship, recipients have the option to not make their name public. This HIV League Scholar requested to keep their name private, and we are respecting their wishes.
Full-Time Accounting Student – Harrisburg, PA
Because of the nature of the HIV League Scholarship, recipients have the option to not make their name public. This HIV League Scholar requested to keep their name private, and we are respecting their wishes.
Full-Time Public Health Student – Houston, TX
Because of the nature of the HIV League Scholarship, recipients have the option to not make their name public. This HIV League Scholar requested to keep their name private, and we are respecting their wishes.
Full-Time Psychology Student – Missoula, MT
Because of the nature of the HIV League Scholarship, recipients have the option to not make their name public. This HIV League Scholar requested to keep their name private, and we are respecting their wishes.
Full-Time Law Student – Cleveland, OH
Because of the nature of the HIV League Scholarship, recipients have the option to not make their name public. This HIV League Scholar requested to keep their name private, and we are respecting their wishes.
2022 HIV League Scholars who are part-time students and will be receiving $1,500 over the course of one year
Atacan Atakan – Tucson, AZ – University of Arizona – He/Him
Atacan Atakan is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies, and he has completed a double minor in History and Gender and Women’s Studies. He holds a dual Bachelor of Arts diploma in Global and International Affairs. He got his Master of Arts degree in Modern Turkish History.
Currently, he is in the writing process. His dissertation examines how children’s sexuality, gender, and corporeality were managed, regulated, and reconceptualized in Ottoman Empire during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Besides his main research subject focusing on the history of childhood in the modern Middle East, his other research interests include the social and cultural history of the late Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman women’s movement, ideas of nation and nationalism, and theories of sexuality and gender. He has assisted and taught several courses including Religion of Islam, Middle Eastern Humanities, History of Middle East, Introduction to Political Islam, and Ethnic, World Religions, Islamic Civilization, History of the Aran-Israeli conflict, and Religious Minorities in the Middle East.
In addition to the dissertation, he is also working on a book chapter, “The Ottoman Empire and its Legacies Reconsideration and Decolonization of Islamicate Sexualities,” which will be published in an edited volume titled Colonialisms and Queer Politics: Sexualities, Genders and Unsettling Colonialities by Oxford University Press. In 2015, his article, “Creating an Enemy: Children’s Magazines and Different Faces of Enmity (1913-1918),” was published in the Journal of Mediterranean Studies. In 2016, his MA thesis was published with the same title, A Teacher, Agitator, and Guide: Talebe Defteri and Formation of an Ideal Child (1913-1919), by Libra Publishing House. He contributed a chapter (“Öldürmek ya da Öldürmemek: Balkan Savaşları Sonrası Çocukların Ekonomik Alanda SeferberEdilmesi ve Irkçılığın İzdüşümleri” [To Kill or Not to Kill: State Racism and Children’s Mobilization in Economic Realm During the Post-Balkan Wars Era]) into an edited volume which was published in 2018 by Heretik publishing house with a title of Türkiye’de Tarih ve Tarihcilik Kavramlar ve Pratikler (History and History and Historians in Turkey: Concepts and Practices).
Living with HIV since May 2019, Atacan has dedicated time to have a better knowledge of HIV, informing his students about testing, prevention, and care, and raising their awareness about HIV-related criminalization, discrimination, and stigmas. He has also allocated time to do archival research on various discourses and images used in schools in Turkey since the 1980s to narrate HIV, discuss its consequences, and represent those living with HIV. He is also planning to get involved as a volunteer in the AIDS/Life Cycle event, which is a 7-day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles and focuses on the aim of raising awareness about the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic and funds services.
He is originally from Turkey, but currently, he lives in Tucson, Arizona. In his free time, Atacan enjoys reading detective novels, traveling, hiking, trying new recipes, and spending time with his friends and family.
Sabian Castalia – New York, NY– Brooklyn College – She/They
Sabian Castalia is a queer, Latinx filmmaker and media archivist who strives to use entertainment as a tool to educate and empower audiences.
She began studying film and “art as activism” in California, where she worked with non-profit organizations such as BAYCAT to provide free digital media education to low-income youth of color and young women, opening paths for equitable representation in media. Since then, she has worked in all stages of production to create impactful media for companies such as NBCUniversal and Discovery Inc.
Castalia's personal experiences as a queer Latinx thriving with HIV have shaped who she is today and the future she wants to create for the entertainment industry: one that includes depictions of often underrepresented communities in their fullness. Her current work aims to de-stigmatize sex education and the pursuit of sexual health care by amplifying themes of humor, empathy, and joy.
She is proud to attend Brooklyn College, where she is currently majoring in Film Production and strives to be a first-generation college graduate.
Beverly Franklin – Newport News, VA – Thomas Nelson Community College – She/Her
Beverly is an advocate, speaker, and patient navigator for the newly diagnosed and fallen out of care for an HIV-related organization. She serves on various planning committees and a CAB for HIV care and funding allocations. Beverly has a driven passion to give back to others in her community and assist them understand the different journey in life they are now on. She advocates for herself and in addition, her clients for critically important health care and not to self-stigmatize themselves, especially when society stigmatizes people living with HIV enough. The self-stigmatizing came immediately for her, but her change came slowly but surely. Beverly accepted it as it came and over time, she has lessened that stigma. Beverly feels compelled to achieve further within her community, knows her journey has just begun, and even though her road will have numerous twists and turns, she is ready for it all. Currently, Beverly is in her first year pursuing her Associate’s Degree in Human Services, and she plans on continuing her education by obtaining her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work.