Today, I just hosted our orientation meeting for the Crimson Honors, a film criticism scholarship for LGBTQ undergraduates in the US. This is my first year running the competition; last year, I served as a judge. This also marks the first year that we’re hosting a mentorship component. The goal is to make sure that the younger generation of LGBTQ critics can stay in the industry more sustainably, with the help of industry professionals.

For our first iteration of the mentorship program, I’ve paired three industry professionals — Tina Kakadelis, Jose Solís Mayen, and Dino-Ray Ramos — with our three winners — Nicholas York, Fabiana Garcia Calvillo, and Zipporah Pruitt. Between now until June 2026, our three winners should be able to successfully pitch and publish at least one article in their publication of choice.

I would also like to extend a huge thanks to our other two judges, Triston Brewer and Shelli Nicole, for managing to look through all the submissions despite their busy schedules. I am also so grateful to our Executive Director, Diane Anderson-Minshall, for being so supportive throughout the process. And, of course, a huge thanks to our president, Walt Hickey, and Founder, John Griffiths, for entrusting me to lead the Crimson Honors this year. It has been a real treat to figure out the nuts and bolts of running a scholarship from the back-end.

We’re planning to host the scholarship competition again once the Academic Year of 2025-26 kicks off, so keep your eyes peeled for a future announcement! In the meantime, you can read up on more details related to this year’s competition here.