2008 POINT SCHOLARS

Katie Fife

Jan Aronson Point Scholar

University of Texas at Austin

Katie was born and raised in a conservative neighborhood in Dallas, Texas. Attending a small, liberal magnet high school, Katie recognized her attraction to girls during her freshman year. Katie came out to her parents and friends in her sophomore year, and they accepted her and her sexuality, even if not wholeheartedly.

During her time in high school, Katie served as president of her school’s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), the only GSA in the Dallas school district, and helped organize the school’s Day of Silence and facilitated lunch time discussions about coming out to family, coping with unsupportive friends and issues of import to GSA members. Katie’s success as president of her school’s GSA inspired her to become an active member of Youth First Texas, a non-profit organization promoting support, social interaction, and advocacy for GLBT youth across the Dallas metroplex. While remaining active in the LGBT community, Katie never lost sight of her academic dreams. She was valedictorian of her class at a talented and gifted magnet school, no small feat for a school ranked as the number one public high school in the nation by Newsweek.

Katie is now an undergraduate at University of Texas at Austin and looks forward to studying biology and biochemistry at the university. She hopes to use her education to enter the field of science, either as a medical researcher or practitioner.