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 school district's LGBTQ+ Roundtable and served as president of the high school's Gender-Sexuality Alliance club. 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.

Gontard wasn’t the only Alameda city high school graduate who recently received a scholarship. Along with graduates that received a scholarship from Kiwanis Club of Alameda (“https://alamedasun.com/news/alameda-kiwanis-awards-100000-local-high-sch...,” June 22), several other graduates received scholarships on behalf of local residents — the scholarships re named after residents.

The Alameda Unified School District recently released the names of more than a dozen graduates from AUSD school that were picked to receive scholarships. Graduates receiving scholarships include:
Amani Porter and Fetutuki Havili, Island High School (IHS) — Ted Anderson Award
Ava Burton, Alameda High School (AHS) — Beatrice B Barrett Scholarship
Jennifer Tuason, Encinal High School (EHS) — Florinda Bartalini Scholarship
Amir Chatmon, IHS — Larry Church Award
Jeovahn Guerrero, IHS — Rey Cruz Award
Jeremy Harris, AHS — Cox/Hollywood Scholarship
Lindsey Green, IHS — Kathy Duncan Memorial Art Award
Margaret Kramer, AHS —Sally Gallagher Scholarship
Margaret Kramer, AHS; Erebecca Gleason, EHS — Miss Nicole Jones Memorial Scholarship
Corrina Chin, AHS; Gabrielle Benaquista, EHS —Abraham and Sara Kofman Journalism Scholarship
Patrick Bagget, AHS — Marlene and Steve Kofman Scholarship
Scarlett Deveno, AHS; Paloma Anderson, EHS — Paul Hardy Scholarship
Lan Vy Dinh, EHS — Susan Scott Scholarship
Diego Cerna, EHS — Lou Allen Scholarship
Mya Nguyen, AHS — Van Sickle Scholarship
Roxana Pourfarzaneh, AHS — Steven Sizer Scholarship