By: Adriana Rangel

Keith Shoemaker graduated from Montevallo in 1998 with a degree in Social Science. To give back to the Montevallo community, he created the UM LGBTQ+ Inclusiveness & Social Activism Endowed Scholarship.

According to the school’s scholarships directory, students are awarded $500 per semester for two semesters.

To be considered for this scholarship, you do not have to be part of the LGBTQ+ community. This scholarship is officially listed for “a student with demonstrated efforts to create inclusivity for underrepresented communities including LGBTQ+, Women, African Americans, Native Americans/Indigenous Cultures, Hispanic, Latino/Latinx, Asian/Pacific islanders, etc. with a proven commitment to diversity, advocacy, equality & inclusion.”

Shoemaker said, “The qualifications for this scholarship are being a part of the LGBTQ community. That includes allies so it pretty much encompasses anyone who is in the community or a friend of the community and otherwise not doing anything against the community or basic human rights.”

Shoemaker adds, “Anyone who is doing that during their college career is definitely someone who deserves to be awarded a scholarship while they’re in school.”

His inspiration for this scholarship came from the fact it simply didn’t exist. Many universities already had something like this for their school.

“We wanted to offer something unique that didn’t exist and we know that there is a need for.” Shoemaker said. “Generally LGBTQ students, specifically the trans community, are much more susceptible to being without a home and could have lower access to food and other amenities because of their lack of support back at home… It is a higher risk of that happening to folks in the LGBTQ community.”

During his time at Montevallo, Shoemaker was a loyal Gold Member and was actively involved in College Night. Shoemaker says Montevallo hasn’t changed since he’s been in school.

“It felt like a safe place to be.” Shoemaker says. “I had a very loving and supportive family at home, but then also at Montevallo I felt I also had a very loving and supportive family so I felt very fortunate to be in that situation while I was at school.”

However, Shoemaker knows that not every person has this support.

“…I never felt the insecurity of abandonment or anything to that effect while I was in school, but I understand that is a common theme within our community.” He said. “I just consider myself very fortunate to not have that experience. I wanted to create something that essentially would help people who are having that experience.”

Now, Shoemaker is a supply chain manager for Delta Air Lines. This means he purchases drinks and snacks on behalf of the airline. In his free time, he says he watches “an embarrassing amount of TV.”

“I also enjoy outdoor activities.” Shoemaker said, “I’m an avid runner. I’ve been running for many years and quite enjoy doing long distance running. Other than that, being social with friends.”

I lastly asked Shoemaker if he had any advice for students who were currently struggling with their own identity or journey. He took a pause and thought about his choice of words carefully.

“I don’t like to impart advice by any stretch- especially when it comes to this.” he said. “One: Take your time. Two: Be yourself. And three: find your tribe.”

He said, “If there is a struggle during that process, if you have those three things you’re more likely to survive it and I understand within our community a lot of people do struggle and unfortunately some people don’t survive that.”

Shoemaker said, “The last thing would be just make sure your voice is heard. Make sure people understand what your needs are and don’t be afraid to voice your needs because we’re all vulnerable and weak at times especially during times of struggle.”