2008 POINT SCHOLARS

Stephen Benjamin

Emory University

Political Science

Stephen was raised in Bellinghman, Massachusetts and grew up in a conservative church. As a young man Stephen was heavily involved in the ministry but, after many years of struggling with being gay, he realized he couldn't reconcile the differences between his faith and sexuality. In his senior year of high school he abandoned plans to enter full-time ministry and in the Fall of 2002, made the decision to join the military as an Arabic translator.

After attending boot camp, Stephen studied at the Defense Language Institute and was stationed at Fort Gordon, Georgia after his graduation in 2005. As an Arabic translator, he provided critical intelligence to deployed troops for nearly two years. In March of 2007, his career came to an abrupt end after being involuntarily outed and honorably discharged under the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law. The law, which mandates termination if a service member is found to be gay, has increasingly come under fire from members of Congress and former senior military leadership.

Shortly after his discharge, he became part of the movement to fight for repeal of the military's gay ban. He has been interviewed on CNN, Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, NPR's Fresh Air and has written for the New York Times.

Stephen hopes to pursue a bachelor degree in Political Science at Emory University. After graduation, he looks forward to attending law school.