Congratulations to AHA’s 2024 Student Activist Scholarship Winners
Photo by Muzammil Soorma on Unsplash The American Humanist Association is proud to join the Secular Student Alliance in providing financial support to students seeking to advance their education, foster inclusive and welcoming communities, and advocate for strong secular principles. This scholarship program helps to identify the humanist and secular leaders of the future. Each of the recipients has been involved with secular activism on a variety of issues. We wish them a very bright future.
Here are the students who received 2024 scholarships from the AHA:
Jess (she/her) — Georgia State University
Jess is a passionate student pursuing a double major in advertising and computer science. With a keen interest in blending creativity with technology, she aims to build a career that uses innovation to tell meaningful stories and drive social change. Raised in a Catholic household, Jess was instilled with a foundation of moral values but found herself increasingly questioning the beliefs and traditions she grew up with. Through introspection and exposure to diverse perspectives, she embraced secularism as a worldview that resonates with her approach to life. Secularism offers her the freedom to form her own moral compass based on empathy, reason, and critical thinking.
As a queer woman, Jess’s secularism is intertwined with her journey toward self-acceptance. Growing up, she experienced the stigma surrounding LGBTQ+ identities in religious teachings, which led her to critically examine the intersection of religion, gender, and sexuality. She has organized events on campus to raise awareness about the intersection of religion, gender, and sexuality. Off-campus, she volunteered with LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, participated in Pride events, and supported campaigns for secular policies in education and healthcare. She continues to utilize her experience in digital marketing to raise funds for non-profits such as student debt relief foundations. She has worked alongside student groups to address overlapping oppressions faced by marginalized communities, participating in discussions that explore race, gender, and sexuality. Her off-campus activism includes supporting Black Lives Matter, immigrant rights, and reproductive justice initiatives, recognizing the interconnectedness of these struggles. Jess’s involvement with the Secular Student Alliance is a natural extension of her commitment to fostering community, promoting critical thinking, and advocating for secular values.
Jaymie (they/them) — University of Michigan
Jaymie is a first-year graduate student studying social work at the University of Michigan, where they hope to make a meaningful impact on LGBTQ+ communities and social justice policy. Their goal is to work on policies that require schools to introduce discussions on gender and sexuality using age-appropriate language. They aim to create safe spaces for children to explore their identities and feel supported, and foster acceptance and understanding from a young age.
Growing up in the Hasidic Jewish community, Jaymie experienced rigid gender expectations, which left them feeling confused and alienated. During puberty, they began questioning their assigned gender role and later discovered their transgender identity. Their struggle with navigating these expectations, coupled with the lack of sex education or exposure to the LGBTQ+ community, fueled their commitment to advocating for the rights and well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals. After leaving their religious community at age 12, they began to question many of the teachings they had grown up with, including religious views on gender and sexuality. Their path to becoming an atheist/agnostic was informed by their search for personal understanding and the rejection of harmful, exclusionary ideologies.
As president of Prism, the LGBTQ+ activism club at their undergraduate university, Jaymie implemented inclusive sex education programs, raised $1,200 for Trans Lifeline, and worked to increase BIPOC representation within the queer community. They also facilitated educational discussions on supporting transgender students and collaborated with future educators on promoting inclusivity in schools. Jaymie is committed to dismantling oppressive systems and advocating for policies that uplift all marginalized communities, ensuring that future generations can live authentically and free from discrimination.
Chloe (she/her) — Eastern Kentucky University
Chloe is an ambitious student at Eastern Kentucky University, majoring in biomedical engineering with a specialization in prosthetics. She is passionate about helping those with physical impairments through innovations in prosthetic technology and physical therapy. Growing up in a financially struggling household, particularly after her parents’ divorce in 2010, Chloe understands firsthand the challenges of navigating life with limited resources, which has motivated her to pursue a career where she can make a positive impact.
Identifying as an agnostic secularist, Chloe’s worldview was shaped by her mother, who taught her to keep her personal, religious, social, and work lives separate. This upbringing fostered a sense of rationality, allowing her to approach various situations with fresh perspectives, unclouded by emotion. As a queer woman from a lower-income background, Chloe’s identity intersects deeply with her secular activism. She recognizes how modern laws, often influenced by religious beliefs, disproportionately harm marginalized groups like herself. The overturning of Roe v. Wade and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation have fueled her commitment to activism, as these laws directly infringe upon her rights and the rights of others. She organized a protest with friends against a local church’s homophobic sign during Pride Month, petitioning the county for its removal. She also supported efforts in-person and online to hold police accountable for violence against marginalized communities. Chloe is conscious of her privilege as a white, cisgender woman and uses it to amplify the voices of People of Color, disabled individuals, and LGBTQ+ people.
Chloe is also passionate about environmentalism. She plans to petition her university and local businesses to reduce plastic waste by implementing more sustainable practices, such as using reusable silverware and eco-friendly bags. Her activism journey is deeply rooted in her secular values and her desire to create a more inclusive and equitable society for all.
Anansa (she/her) — University of Texas at Arlington
Anansa is a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Arlington, specializing in Space Physics with a concentration in Solar Wind and Magnetosphere interactions. Her passion for space and the mechanisms behind our universe has driven her to pursue a career in research, currently working as an intern at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in scientific visualization. Upon completing her degree, Anansa aims to work full-time at NASA, where she can continue exploring the complexities of space.
Coming from three generations of Black non-believers, Anansa’s secular identity has been shaped by her family’s rejection of organized religion and her natural curiosity about the universe. Identifying as agnostic, she places her faith in human potential and the power of evidence-based inquiry, guided by reason rather than dogma. As a nonbinary, neurodivergent individual with a female body, Anansa has faced challenges within the Black community, where traditional religious beliefs often clash with her identity. While she acknowledges the role of faith in helping marginalized communities survive, she believes that religion has outlived its usefulness in many contexts, particularly when it serves to divide rather than unite.
Anansa’s activism began as a chapter coordination liaison for FLIP National, a nonprofit supporting first-generation and low-income students. As a Questbridge scholar, she wanted to help others from similar backgrounds access the resources they needed. She is involved with the Progressive Student Union, advocating for a safer campus for marginalized students, and serves as president of the Physics Graduate Student Association, where she fights for higher wages and the protection of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in Texas. She volunteers with NAARPR Dallas, working on cases of police brutality and advocating for freedom from racial and political repression. She believes that secular activism and scientific rationality offer a clearer path to truth and justice, free from the exploitation and spiritual speculation often associated with religious charities.
Angela (she/her) — University of Oklahoma
Angela is a disabled mom pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Integrative Psychology at the University of Oklahoma, with plans to apply for a Master’s in Social Work. Her ultimate goal is to become a licensed clinical social worker, specializing in counseling multiple populations including those who have experienced religious and spiritual trauma. Angela’s secular identity was shaped by a tumultuous upbringing via indoctrination into multiple conflicting faiths by her caregivers. These experiences, coupled with abuse she endured, solidified her commitment to a life free from religious influence.After moving to Oregon to raise her now trans son away from the religiously charged environment of the bible belt, Angela returned to her home state due to challenges following a difficult divorce. Living in Oklahoma has highlighted the challenges of raising a trans child in a state where religiously influenced transphobia is prevalent, and the superintendent of education pushes for religious texts in schools. As a bi/pansexual and member of the Shawnee tribe, she advocates for her LGBTQ+ community, women’s rights, civil rights, and indigenous causes. She has marched, voted, and supported these movements for over 15 years, and volunteered with Free Mom Hugs, an LGBTQ+ nonprofit. Her activism is also reflected in her fierce protection of her son, who attends school online due to the hostile environment in local Oklahoma schools.
Angela’s dedication to secularism is rooted in her belief that religion should not dictate education or legislation. She opposes the indoctrination of children with religious dogma and advocates to keep Christian nationalism and anti-trans rhetoric out of schools, believing that a secular, evidence-based society is essential for inclusivity and progress.
Get to know all the student activists receiving 2024 scholarships, donate to support more scholarships, sponsor a secular student, and check out future scholarship opportunities (applications will open in April 2025).