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AHS Student Awarded eQuality $6,000 LGBTQ+ Scholarship

Stanford-bound 2023 Alameda High School graduate Paul Gontard has been awarded a $6,000 Lester Marks eQuality Scholarship in recognition of his service to the LGBTQ+ community during his high school years. Gontard has led the Alameda Unified School District’s LGBTQ+ Roundtable and served as president of the high school’s Gender-Sexuality Alliance club.

Alameda Post - a student speaks into a microphone after winning the eQuality scholarship
Paul Gontard speaks at the 2023 Lester Marks eQuality Scholarship Awards Celebration. Still frame eQuality / YouTube.

Alameda School Board trustee Ryan LaLonde called Gontard “one of the most intelligent, thoughtful, and organized students I have ever worked with, who was always prepared for every meeting and three steps ahead of the adults in the room.”

The volunteer-run eQuality Scholarship Collaborative has awarded more than $2 million since its inception in 1989. Scholarships are awarded to California high school, community college, and medical students who have shown support and leadership in the LGBTQ+ community. eQuality started as a scholarship program by Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s lesbian and gay employee group, now PG&E PrideNetwork. The following year, the Bay Area Network of Gay and Lesbian Educators joined the effort. Many additional members have joined eQuality over the years.

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