In the spring of 2008 the staff of Campus Pride came together to develop the Voice & Action National Leadership Award. This award is for undergraduate student leaders who are creating positive change for LGBT students on college campuses across the country. The staff wanted to create this award because at the time there was no way on the national scale that students were being recognized for the amazing work they do on a daily basis. In just the past three award cycles (including this one) we have seen a huge increase in the awareness of the award as well as the amount of applicants applying each year. This year has raised the bar even higher – we have a total of 40 applicants, which is a 25% increase in the number of applicants from last year. We are also looking at the most diverse applicant pool of the three years this award has been in place.

We need like to publicly thank, Ernst & Young & OUTMedia. These two organizations have offered the financial support to make this award possible. Along with a free registration to attend a regional LGBT College Student Conference, the individual receives the official Voice & Action Award from Campus Pride as well as a free artist/speaker/entertainer to bring to his/her campus from our educational partner OUTmedia.

Before we move onto discussing the 2011 Voice & Action Leadership Award Applicant Pool, I wanted to briefly remind everyone of the past recipients of the award. In 2009 we awarded Justin Hager, UW-Madison; Shawna Scott, University of Georgia; and Celso Perez, Boston College. Than in 2010 we award Stephan Lucas, Pennsylvania State University and George Aumoithe, Jr., Bowdoin College. Please click here to learn about these outstanding leaders.

Now onto the 2011 Voice & Action Leadership Award Applicant Pool

Details are after the jump!

We have a total of 25 states represented this year. Last year we had 18 states represented in the applicant pool. That comes to a 28% increase from last year! Here is the list of states and the number of applicants from each - AZ-1, CA-2, CO-2, FL-3, GA-3, HI-1, IA-1, IL-1, IN-1, KS-1, KY-1, LA-1, MA-1, MD-1, MI-1, MT-1, NH-1, NM-1, NY-6, OH-1, PA-4, RI-1, TX-1, VA-1, WI-2. Is your state in this list? If not, next year you should consider applying to be sure your state can be recognized!

We also asked the applicants to provide us with some other demographic information so we can get a better idea of who the applicants are and for us to ensure each year we are attracting the most diverse applicant pool possible.
The average age of the applicants is 21.5. The birth month with the most applicants in May – on the flip side November has no applicants.

Gender Identities in the applicant pool are; Androgynous, Female, FTM, Gender Queer, Male, Queer, Transman, Woman

Sexual Orientations in the applicant pool are; Bisexual, Pansexual, Gay, Queer, Heterosexual, Lesbian, Prefer No Labels

Racial/Ethic Backgrounds in the applicant pool; African American, Native American, Asian American, Puerto Rican, Irish, Black, Caucasian, Chamorro, Chicanna, English, European, Hispanic, Jewish, Scottish, Italian

Something also interesting about the applicant pool, no applicant has the same last name! However, Andrew (4), Andrea (2), David (2), and Stephanie (2) are the most common first names in the applicant pool!

We also asked the applicants a little bit about their academic profile here is what we know so far about them!

Most of the applicants are in their fourth or third year of college and a few are in their fifth! Now the other exciting thing is that we have three applicants who are only in their second year and they have already accomplished a lot too! It is very exciting to see a wide range of class years in the applicant pool, this just proves that it does not matter what where you are at in your college tenure you have the ability to create positive change on your campus! This award was created to shine light on the work our youth is doing very day; these youth just proves we were right in knowing the youth have the power and are doing great things with that power!

Something also interesting to note is that half of the applicant pool are double majors with English (4) and Psychology (4) having the most applicants.

Below is the list of the 38 colleges and universities that have applicants represented this year! Last year, we have 27 colleges and universities – that is a 29% increase in the number of colleges represented. Is your college or university on this list? If not, you should consider applying next year. We want to hear about all of the great things happening on college campuses around the country. This award is one way to share those great things!

Arizona State University
Armstrong Atlantic State University
Bentley University
Clayton State University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Denison University
Earlham College
Eastern Kentucky University
Elizabethtown College
Florida Gulf Coast University
Florida State University
Harrisburg Area Community College
Kansas State University
Louisiana State University
McDaniel College
Michigan State University
Montana State University-Bozeman
New York University
Radford University
Roosevelt University Salve
Regina University
San Diego State University
Spelman College
St. Edward's University
SUNY Oneonta
The Pennsylvania State University
University at Albany, SUNY
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Iowa
University of Miami
University of Nex Mexico
University of Pennsylvania
University of Rochester
University of Southern California
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
University of Wisconsin-Madison

So as you can see, Campus Pride has a difficult task ahead to select few recipients for the 2011 Voice & Action National Leadership Award!

This year, Campus Pride is adding another national distinction to the award process by selecting the "Top 12 Leaders in Action." The Top 12 honor will be chosen by peers on the Campus Pride Youth Advisory Board from the 40 applications. The Top 12 will be forwarded onto the Finalist Committee who will select the 2011 Voice & Action Award recipient(s). So be sure to visit the Campus Pride Blog next week when we announce the 12 applicants who will move forward to the next around of reviews.

We are very excited about all of the applicants this year! We hope to see your application next year!