2008 POINT SCHOLARS

Ryan Heman

Tufts University

Political Science

Ryan moved to the suburban town of Cheshire, CT as a child. As the second born to a single mother, life did not begin easily for Ryan. He grew up watching his mother work several jobs at a time just to support the family, while also trying to guard Ryan and his sister from the unannounced visits of their alcoholic father. Realizing he was gay in elementary school only made things more difficult during what was already a turbulent time.

Discovering over many years what it means to be “gay,” Ryan eventually became comfortable with himself. By the end of elementary school, he started coming out to his close friends. Although the vast majority of his classmates, and eventually his immediate family accepted him, Ryan still felt lost and alone being the only openly gay person he knew.

Ryan is now at Tufts University majoring in Political Science. At Tufts, Ryan has found the community he always hoped for. As a coordinator of the Queer Straight Alliance and the LGBT Community Representative to the student senate, Ryan has already emerged as a leader at the university. He hopes to use his education and passion for activism to become a human rights attorney.