UTEP Pharmacy Student Awarded National LGBTQ Scholarship

Last Updated on October 11, 2019 at 12:00 AM

Originally published October 11, 2019

By UC Staff

UTEP Communications

UTEP student-pharmacist William Campillo Terrazas has been awarded a scholarship from the Point Foundation (Point), the nation's largest scholarship-granting organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students.

UTEP student-pharmacist William Campillo Terrazas has been awarded a scholarship from the Point Foundation (Point), the nation's largest scholarship-granting organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students. Photo: Laura Trejo / UTEP Communications

Terrazas was one of 16 students chosen to be Point Scholars in 2019 out of 2,100 applicants. In the 2019-20 academic year, 85 LGBTQ students will receive financial assistance and programmatic support from Point as they pursue their associate, bachelor's or advanced degrees.

A native of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, Terrazas and his family immigrated to the United States in 1998. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of New Mexico in 2014. Under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Terrazas started the UTEP School of Pharmacy’s Pharm.D. program with the inaugural class in fall 2017.

Terrazas is involved with the MFactor, an HIV prevention program in El Paso. He was one of 10 outstanding, young leaders chosen for the 2017 cohort of Human Rights Campaign HIV 360° Fellowship Program. In 2015, Terrazas co-founded Latinxs Revolucion LGBTQ, a queer- and trans-led, community-based organization in Little Rock, Arkansas, that focuses on the health and well-being of Latinx immigrants.

Point Foundation empowers promising LGBTQ students to achieve their full academic and leadership potential – despite the obstacles often put before them – to make a significant impact on society. Since 2002, Point has awarded more than 400 scholarships, making it the nation's largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students of merit. Point Foundation promotes change through scholarship funding, mentorship, leadership development and community service training.