2006 POINT SCHOLARS

Jacob Hunter Weldon

Columbia University

Sociology

Jacob hails from a small conservative town in Southeast Texas, where traditionalist ideologies take precedence over expressions of gender and sexual identity. The son of a Vietnam Marine and police captain, Jacob knew being gay would disappoint his father and bring dishonor to his family; so to turn the attention away from his questionable sexuality, Jacob immersed himself in academics and extracurricular activities. By the time he finished high school, Jacob was President of his class, Drum Major of the band, graduated Summa Cum Laude and was chosen the Most Likely to Succeed student in his class. Jacob has since come out and adopted a grassroots approach to activism. As a gay Christian, he understands both the challenges and importance of reconciling seemingly-opposing lifestyles, yet encourages others—especially youth—to embrace their uniqueness and push the boundaries of divisive traditionalist ideologies. Jacob is a sociology major at Columbia University with an interest in global human rights and gender studies—he is regularly on the Dean’s List and is the recipient of the GM Scholarship for Leadership in Diversity.