NOGLSTP is proud to announce the winners for the 2014 NOGLSTP Out To Innovate™ Scholarships, made possible by an Innovation Generation grant from the Motorola Solutions Foundation.
The winner of the 2014 Out to Innovate™ Undergraduate Scholarship is Nathalie Lambrecht . Ms Lambrecht will be finishing her major in Health Sciences this coming semester at Saint Mary’s College of California. Nathalie has worked on two research projects at St. Mary’s and presented her research at the AAAS Annual Conference in Boston, MA in February, 2013. She has received numerous academic awards including the Joseph P. McKenna first place summer research award and the Julie A. Pryde Award for Outstanding Scholarship as a Health Sciences Major. Nathalie was also a member of the St. Mary’s Division I Women’s Rowing Team, competing as an athlete for three years and student-coaching in her fourth year. Nathalie seeks to be an advocate for the LBGTQIA community as an actively out lesbian on her college campus. She has also volunteered at Lyon-Martin Health Services, a clinic serving underinsured members of the LGBTQIA community. Nathalie is currently working as an intern at Blood Systems Research Institute in San Francisco. “I feel incredibly honored to receive the NOGLSTP Out to Innovate™ Scholarship not only as an academic distinction, but as recognition of my contributions to the LGBT community in such a pivotal time for LGBT rights. When I decided to be actively out on campus, I was fearful that my sexual orientation would hinder my academic potential, especially as a scientist. Instead I found that professors valued my research and academic work regardless of my orientation and supported my personal journey. Over the years I was embraced by peers, teammates, and faculty and saw that being out was a powerful form of advocacy. I hope that I can inspire other students to spread awareness by being out on their campus. As someone who is passionate about science and the rights of LGBTQIA individuals, I am grateful for the support from NOGLSTP to finish my undergraduate career.”
The winner of the 2014 Out to Innovate™ Graduate Scholarship is Leslie Kerby. Ms. Kerby is a Ph.D. candidate in Nuclear Engineering at the University of Idaho. Growing up in a predominantly Mormon culture, she completed her BS in Physics in 1998 and then paused her science career to focus on raising her children. Following a divorce (and coming out) over a decade later, she re-entered science to support herself and her five children. Her research is in applied nuclear physics. She has partnered with Los Alamos National Laboratory to upgrade parts of the spallation reaction models used within the transport code, MCNP6, for her dissertation. She completed her Masters in May of 2013. She was awarded the American Physical Society M. Hildred Blewett Fellowship in 2013-2014, one of only three female physicists across the US to be so recognized. In addition, she was a Roy G. Post Foundation Scholarship recipient in 2013, recently was chosen by the American Nuclear Society as a John and Muriel Landis Scholar (2014), and is a member of the US Delegation for the 2014 International Conference on Women in Physics. “I am deeply honored to be selected as the NOGLSTP Out To Innovate™ graduate scholar. I recognize the many applicants who were also deserving and is grateful to be acknowledged with this prestigious award. I promise to represent LGBTQ scientists well and to continue my efforts to promote awareness and acceptance in both the workplace and society. I am also extremely grateful for the financial aspect of this award. As a student supporting five children, this scholarship is very welcome. “
These scholarships are intended for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) programs who are either lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) or an active ally of the LGBT community. The scholarships are designed to promote academic excellence and increased visibility of talented LGBT students in STEM careers.