This year’s annual LGBTQ student scholarships, funded by the Gay and Lesbian Alumni of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s (GALA-ND/SMC), has been awarded to two sophomores at Notre Dame, Anne Jarrett and Tim Jacklich.
Bryan Ricketts, vice chair of membership in GALA, said the organization looks for LGBTQ students who excel in serving their community through a variety of ways, as well as students who “may not be able to attend” without financial support.
“It’s a combination of wanting to encourage and support high-performing LGBT students at Notre Dame, particularly those with campus and community work,” Ricketts said. “Whether that’s working within established groups like Prism, or working on personal projects that help advance some part of LGBT inclusion, we want to support that.”
Jarrett is a resident of Howard Hall majoring in gender studies and philosophy. On campus she has been involved in student government, was a committee chair for PrismND and currently works at the University Writing Center. Last fall, she helped run and organize the Global LGBTQ+ Film Festival on campus as a student government representative. Jarrett spent last summer as a social media intern for TREES, Inc. (Transgender Resource, Education and Enrichment Services). TREES, Inc. works to share educational resources about the transgender community in small towns and rural communities, according to its website. Next year, Jarrett will be abroad in France, where she will be working on her thesis discussing and researching the differences in identity construction in the United States and France. This past October, Jarrett authored the Huffington Post article entitled, “The University of Notre Dame Is Failing Its LGBTQ Students.”
These achievements led GALA to choose her as one of its scholarship recipients, Ricketts said.
“For Anne, the interest she has taken in LGBT social movements and the comparative studies she’s hoping to do, we think that’s really interesting and not something we’ve had a chance to support with this scholarship,” he said.
Jarrett said the LGBT scholarships can help build a sense of community, but more inclusion is still needed on campus.
“Just the fact that GALA exists, even though it’s separate from the University, we are able to create a community at Notre Dame — which is really important for not only Notre Dame people, but for people outside of Notre Dame,” she said. “There’s a general idea of diversity on campus, but as for inclusion, I don’t know how much exists. I think coming out for Ally Week stuff, making an effort to educate yourself on appropriate terminology, making more of an effort to not assume straight-ness and not to judge people because they are ‘different’ than you. Being aware of your own faults in that is the first step to making progress.”
Jacklich is an O’Neill Family Hall resident studying history and Spanish. He is a member of the Glee Club and he served in the student government department of gender relations in the Blais-Shewit administration. Currently, he serves on an advisory committee focusing on to the campus climate related to LGBTQ students. He also has participated in the last two Campus Ministry LGBTQ retreats and works as an assistant teacher at a local South Bend grade school.
Ricketts said the group chose Jacklich because of his participation on campus and support of other students.
“[We were] impressed with Tim’s engagement with on campus groups, and in particular supporting those who are interested in exploring being LGBT and how they can live that reality in Catholic faith,” Ricketts said.
Jacklich said the scholarship is important because LGBT students may need extra financial support once they come out. He said he believes Notre Dame has been gradually improving its climate of inclusion for LGBT students.
“Even today, LGBT students run the risk of being cut off financially by their parents upon coming out. Support systems like the GALA-ND/SMC Scholarship Fund help to mitigate that risk and ensure that LGBT students stay on track to graduate,” Jacklich said in an email. “Notre Dame has made significant improvements in its climate of LGBT inclusivity over the last few years. … To an LGBT student considering Notre Dame, I would say that ND is far from perfect, but it can definitely be a home for them.”
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