You were the valedictorian of your senior class.
Now, you're a freshman at Georgetown,
and you're an amazing young man.
I can't believe your story.
And so, it's never easy for anyone
to come out to their parents.
That is a really difficult thing to do, but especially
hard for yours, right?
It was.
About the valedictorian part, I have to give you
all the credit for that.
When I was writing my papers at 2:00 AM,
I often had to look up your videos for inspiration.
And you just--
Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
There were so many times that you really pulled me through.
So I do appreciate that.
I'm glad I could do that.
Thank you so much.
But as far as coming out, in my sophomore year of high school,
my dad went through my phone and found out
that I was gay and sent me to a conversion therapy.
How did he found out?
I was writing a paper one night and he
started searching through my phone and saw a picture of me
with my first boyfriend at the time.
And so that's how he found out you were gay.
And then what happened?
So they sent me to conversion therapy.
And then after a few months, that ended.
The dangerous part about that is, as a patient,
I believe that this health care professional
was doing what was best for me.
And I didn't see any progress.
So it's very depressing.
But then it went on, and in my senior year of high school
they got a new pastor who was preaching these messages
at church that I didn't agree with,
and I asked to go to a different church.
And they said that I would either have to go with them
or move out.
And so I decided that day that I had to move out.
And after that I was just couch surfing
with friends for a while.
And then I moved in with my best friends family.
How long ago was that?
This was the beginning of this year.
OK.
So you've had no contact with them since?
No, I've stayed in contact with them.
Because at the end of the day, they're still my parents.
Good for you.
Wow.
It's very difficult.
Yeah, good for you.
[APPLAUSE]
OK.
But you're not home-- where are you staying?
I'm actually staying with--
I called them madre, padre, and then all of their kids.
So I'm staying with my best friend's
family over the summer.
But for a while you were just taking
on different people's couches?
Yes, ma'am.
Yeah.
OK.
So now you're in Georgetown, and a freshmen.
How is that going in college?
It feels like it's been three months,
but it's only been two weeks.
It's amazing.
I absolutely love it.
I would not want to be anywhere else but Georgetown.
The staff is so supportive.
That's great.
Our residential minister actually lives on my floor.
As a Jesuit University they have resident ministers,
and she told me that she was there to support me.
And as someone who's been through something like this
with religion, it meant the world to me
to hear from a spiritual advisor that they had my back.
Because that's what religion should do.
It should comfort you and support you
for being the person that you are.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
[APPLAUSE]
Well, good for you.
I'm glad.
All right.
So how did this GoFundMe page--
how did that get started?
So when Georgetown gave me my financial aid package,
it was based on my parent's income.
So there was about a $20,000 gap.
And I went to a teacher, and she was
like, I would love to cosign for you, but she said,
I'm still paying my student loans.
I can't.
So she said, I'm going start a GoFundMe.
And she did.
And the goal was to raise $20,000.
And I was blown away when it hit $2,000.
I was just so surprised that people would actually
put their money and support me.
And it's more than $2,000 now.
It closed off at $141,000 dollars.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
So that should help.
Oh, definitely.
But here's the amazing thing-- you
want to do something special with the leftover money.
Tell people what you're going to do.
Absolutely.
So whenever I graduate, I'd like to take the remaining money
and donate it to starting a scholarship for people
in similar situations.
[APPLAUSE]
All right.
So we're partnering again this year with Cheerios
to encourage one million acts of good,
and they're inspired by young people like you.
They're going to help you start your scholarship
with this check for $25,000.
Oh, my God.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
Oh, my God.
There's no way.
Yep.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.