Seth Owen thought that his dreams of going to college were shattered after his parents refused to send him to college because he was gay.
But the generosity of strangers made sure that the GoFundMe campaign that was set up succeeded beyond his wildest dreams and not only that, Georgetown University, which had accepted him, had given him a full scholarship.
This means that Owen has a lot of money left over that he decided he was going to use to help others who find themselves in similar situations as him.
In the description for the new GoFundMe page for the new foundation, Owen wrote: “I knew I needed to speak up and do something, thus Unbroken Horizons was born.point 273 |
” The aim of the foundation is to “make it easier for students in all marginalized communities to access post-secondary education and highlight their stories to create awareness around issues within marginalized communities.point 196 | ”point 199 | 1
Speaking to NBC affiliate First Coast News, Owen said that the idea for Unbroken Horizons came off his own experience of struggling to get funding for college and he thanked supporters for their “incredible generosity to help me achieve my dream of getting to college.”
Owen, who describes himself as a “nerd,” was the valedictorian when he graduated from high school last year. But soon after, he thought his dream of going to college was razed to ashes when his parents refused to pay for college because of his sexual orientation. Not only that, Owen said that he was kicked out of his parents’ house.
The problem was that Georgetown, where he was accepted, had provided a financial aid package that was also dependent on the expected contribution of his parents.
That’s when Owen’s high school biology teacher stepped in and created a GoFundMe page to raise the necessary tuition. The original goal was to raise $20,000 but Owen’s plight became viral and the campaign generated a whopping $140,000. And even better, when he appeared on the “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Ellen surprised him with a $25,000 gift.
As if that wasn’t enough, Georgetown revised its previous aid package and decided to give Owen a full scholarship. That left Owen with a lot of money left over that he later decided he wanted to put to good use helping others.
By next summer, the Unbroken Horizons Scholarship Foundation expects to start awarding scholarships using some of Owen’s financial windfall. The new GoFundMe page hopes to raise even more funds.
The foundation aims “to provide 5 students with a $2,500 scholarship so that they too can continue to reach their educational goals.”
Owen adds: “To whom much is given, much is expected and I have taken on the responsibility of working to help other young people in similar situations as mine.”
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