| KarMel Scholarship |
| Congratulations to the 2010 Winners! |
| Best Artistic Gay/Lesbian/Bi/Transgender Themed Work ($400) |
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| 2010 Runner-Up & Special Awards |
| Due to the outstanding quality of the submissions we received, additional awards were presented. Let's congratulate these winners as well! Click links below to view submissions. |
| "Mercedes, Your Dress is Too Loud" (Drawing) Shannon Chong - FL |
| Melody's Favorite - Artistic ($75) |
| Karen's Favorite - Artistic ($75) |
| Runner Up - Written ($100 each) |
| Runner Up - Artistic ($100 each) |
| Last Updated July 31, 2010 |
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| "LGBT Leadership on a Military Campus" (Special Art) Teri Jo Reese - GA Description: "...Each panel represents one outstanding lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender leader form the school campus." - Teri Click here to read more and view more photos. |
| "To Be Yourself" (Song) Wendy Feaver - FL Description: "Song describing the struggles of being true to yourself and who you are. Music & lyrics by Wendy Feaver." - Wendy Click here to read more and download song. |
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| "Change the Song" (Personal Story) Heather Keesee - WA |
| Special Judges' Award ($100) |
| All works on this website belong solely to the authors and artists who created them. Do not use or reproduce anything without permission from the KarMel Scholarship. |
| Description: "Story of an outing I had with my father and his partner. There was a man who called them "fags," and this tells of my response." - Heather An excerpt: "What happend next was very subtle. If there had not been a pause in mine and Jason's conversation, it probably wouldn't have even been caught. But there had, and it was. As we walked away, the cashier mumbled those two stabbing words under his breath, "Fuckin' fags." Dad and Jason stopped in their tracks. An expression of hurt too great to even describe overcame my normally easy-go-lucky father's face. Jason, who had just been laughing with me, suddenly looked like he didn't care if suddenly a bomb was dropped right where we were standing. After a few seconds of just standing there, they started walking again, without saying a word." "Did that really just happen? Isn't there something we can do about this!? We can write a letter! We can get him fired!" I was frantically whisper-yelling. My eyes started burning as I started thinking about how I was actually embarrassed to be seen with them earlier. Who was I to be embarrased to be seen with them? They are some of the most wonderful people I know, and I was actually embarrassed to be seen with them! I suddenly felt so ashamed of my selfishness..." Click to read more. |
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| Best Written Gay/Lesbian/Bi/Transgender Themed Work ($300) |
| 2010 Honorable Mention Awards |
| This year we decided to award honorable mention awards by media and subject. We wanted to showcase the best of the best! |
| "Real Love Has No Conditions" (Personal Story) Anonymous Description: "It's a personal story about the time I found that my favorite cousin is gay." -Anonymous Click to read more. |
| Best Essay ($50): "Surging Past Midnight: Schlesinger and Gay Cinema" by Aaron Eischeid - IL COMING SOON!! |
| A "Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Transgender" Themed Scholarship |
| By Media |
| By Subject |
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| "We were truly amazed at the quality and creativity put forth by all the applicants this year. We received more than 500 submissions from 250 applicants, and awarded a total of $2,550. Come view the wonderful submissions we received! Enjoy!" - Karen and Melody (July 31, 2010) |
| Comments, feedback or questions? Please email us at: karmelscholarship@gmail.com |
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| Come view more of the fantastic 2010 Submissions! Coming Soon! |
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| 2011 KarMel Scholarship Information |
| Check back in October 2010 for the 2011 Scholarship information and application. Deadline will be March 31, 2011. |
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| See submissions from previous years of the scholarship. |
| "Butter on Skin" (poem) Description: "I lived in a world where most people will always see me as female. It's a very uncomfortable feeling --unclean--something I know I'll never be able to fully wash away. This poem discusses how it feels to be trapped in a body which doesn't fit, and a society which largely doesn't understand." - Jude Click to read more. |
| "Hey Jude" (song) Description: "I wrote this song when I was first starting to struggle with my gender identity. The male part of me, who I named "Jude," was becoming more apparent, but he was also very repressed, both by society and by myself. This song describes my longing to celebrate him and to let him free." - Jude Click to read more and download song. |
| Description: "In my drawing, a lesbian couple sits at a reception table at their friend's wedding, obviously bored, tired and excluded from the rest of the women. Their inclusion into the wedding, but exclusion from the wedding activities, show how people "accept" homosexuality, but still end up discriminating against LBGT people by disallowing them to wed. The newly wedded bride is in the action of tossing her bouquet to her straight girlfriends, stating that basically whoever can catch this is the next to get married and live a happy life like her. The women in the crowd vary in differences, including age -- even a baby and two small girls are hopefully trying to catch the flowers. This represents the fact that no matter who you are, you can get married, but as long as you're straight. The statement at the bottom of the drawing counteracts the wedding activity, by making the women's fun look frivolous, because according to statistics, their marriages aren't going to end up happily ever after like they think..." - Shannon Click to read more and view larger image. |
| "Once Upon a Time" (Poem) Katie Thayer - FL Description: "A Poem about finding Princess Charming instead of Prince Charming" - Katie Click to read more. |
| "Mistletoe Mishap" (Personal Story) Kate Walsham - CA Description: "A story of a Christmas kiss, or how I outed my mother" - Kate Click to read more. |
| "Freak" (Song) James Dorsey IV - MD Description: "Ever been called or made to feel odd because of who you are? I've embraced that the fact that I'm unique. This song is my response to being called a freak for my sexuality." - James Click to read more and download song. |
| "Lack/Abundance" (Special Art) Suzanna Weeks - TX Description: "A study of transitioning bodies" - Suzanna Click to read more and view larger image. |
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| "The Activist Within Me" (Personal Essay) Marissa Minnick - CA Description: "An essay about why I fight for LGBT rights and marriage equality." - Marissa Click to read more. |
| "The Alliance" Description: "A rhyming couplet poem about the problems facing a recently outed couple and the club they formed." - Janna Click to read more. |
| "Well, This is New" Description: "A freestyle poem about a woman's awakening to the same gender." - Janna Click to read more. |
| Best Coming Out ($50): "Risk Taken" by Anonymous "A Death, A Rebirth" by Quoc Le - MD |
| Best Gay Pride ($50): "The Rainbow" by Arielle Eckstein - CO "My America" by Gavin McCoy - IL |
| Most Unique ($50): "Crusing Towards the Future" by Jennifer Leyting - GA "Guts" by Stephan Nance - OR |
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| "November" (song) Description: "This song emotes a feeling of helplessness. Part of the helplessness I was feeling at the time I wrote this song stemmed from the drug use of my boyfriend's best friend. Helplessness also stemmed from being "trapped in the place between the boys and the girls." In a society that emphasizes the need to conform to your assigned gender, my boyfriend (ftm) and I (gender neutral) are both faced with the helpless feeling of being trapped between the boys and the girls, both because of our bodies and because of societal expectations."" - Jude Click to read more and download song. |
| Melody's Favorite - Written ($75) |
| Karen's Favorite - Written ($75) |
| "Maple Syrup vs. Peaches: Why Vermont and Similar States Allow Same-Sex Marriage while Georgia and Others Do Not" (Essay) Jameson Linville - GA Description: "A scholary research article that examines the social factors that may influence whether or not a state allows same-sex marriage...." - Jameson Click here to read more. |
| "Defeated" (Personal story) Shawn Clements - GA Description: "It is a true story about what I went through during my first date with my first "girlfriend". " - Shawn Click here to read more. |
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