In April 2020, the TGIF Committee voted to establish a $5,000 recurring scholarship in honor of Brian for his contributions to environmental sustainability at UC Berkeley. The SERQueer Scholarship was renewed and increased to $10,000 in May 2023 through 2026. The name SERQueer comes from the group that Brian and other SERC alumni created in 2018, a group they described as “a community space for queer students working on environmental sustainability & justice." $2,000 scholarships will be awarded to five students selected by the SERQueer Scholarship Review Committee.
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Honor the life of Brian Gialketsis and his commitment to building radically inclusive social and environmental justice spaces on campus
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Financially support queer-identifying students working in and passionate about the environmental field at UC Berkeley
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Re-envision what a community scholarship can look like by eliminating barriers to entry and focusing on healing, joy, and growth rather than traumas
Our Fall 2023 SERQueer scholarship will be one round this year. One Google Form Application is due October 27, 2023 at 11:59 PM PST. You can view the essay prompts below. The Brian Gialketsis SERQueer Scholarship Review Committee will review all applications and recipients will be notified by RRR Week.
Eligibility
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Registered UC Berkeley student (both undergraduate and graduate)
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Queer Identifying
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Passionate about Environmentalism (this does not have to be your field of study)
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Any student who meets these criteria is welcome to apply. This includes undocumented, formerly incarcerated, and reentry students, among others.