The Seattle Mariners are joining with T-Mobile and the Greater Seattle Business Association to commemorate Pride in Seattle. Instead of hosting our annual Pride Night at the ballpark, we are showing our support in several different ways.

Over Pride Weekend, June 26-28, the Mariners will light the roof trusses and illuminated signs at T-Mobile Park in rainbow colors and fly the Pride flag over the ballpark.

The Mariners are also joining with T-Mobile to make a $10,000 donation to the Greater Seattle Business Association Scholarship Fund. Since 1991, the GSBA Scholarship Fund has awarded over 700 scholarships totaling over $4 million to LGBTQ+ and allied student leaders from the state of Washington.

The Mariners will be highlighting the achievements of some of the 2020 GSBA Scholars on our social media over the course of Pride Week.

GSBA Scholars

Arath Orozco—First Year Scholar. Arath is attending Skagit Valley College and Mount Vernon High School and plans on continuing to a four-year university to pursue a nursing career. Arath wants to pursue a Master's Degree to become a Nurse Practitioner and work with Planned Parenthood, an organization he has worked with since 11th grade. Through Planned Parenthood, Arath wants to help provide accurate and inclusive medical care to the LGBTQ+ community, even when they cannot afford it or if it is unsafe for them to use insurance.

Bryant Allen – First Year Scholar**.** Bryant grew up all around the Seattle area and is now living in Issaquah, attending Cascadia College where he is finishing his associate degree in Cultural Ethnic Studies. He hopes to inspire others with his story and promote wellness through healing, inspiring LGBTQ+ youth to recognize their own potential, and understanding that true healing and compassion come from within. Bryant plans to transfer to Life Chiropractic College West in Hayward, California to pursue his doctorate in Network Spinal Analysis. Bryant has made becoming a Chiropractor his long-term goal, working with communities, marginalized LGBTQ+ youth, and ultimately providing them with chiropractic care so they can perform at their highest potential.

Chivon Ou – First Year Scholar. Chivon is attending the University of Portland. He is a first-generation, Khmer-American student pursuing an undergraduate degree in Nursing with a Neuroscience Minor. Inspired by the stories of his parents’ survival as refugees of the Khmer Rouge regime, Chivon aspires to become a nurse researcher to serve communities that are disproportionately affected by trauma. One of Chivon’s long-term goals is to invalidate the practice of conversion therapy with research. He also has an interest in pursuing research related to HIV using his experience as a biomedical intern. Chivon hopes that along his journey he will inspire LGBTQ+ youth to confidently pursue their ambitions.

Fatima Al-Rikabi – Third Year Scholar. Fatima in Everett, WA and in Iraq off and on for most of her childhood. She is currently pursuing a double major at the University of Washington in Sociology and History. Her goal is to pursue a career politics and become the first-out-Muslim-female Senator. Once she has graduated from the University of Washington, she plans to attend law school. She hopes to use a specialization in Civil Rights Law to advocate for minorities and fight the injustice in our legal system that oppresses LGBTQ+ individuals.

Fialaui’a Lamositele – Third Year Scholar. Fialaui’a is from Bellingham, WA and attends Western Washington University's Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies. They are creating their own concentration of Healing in Education, Leadership, and Organizational Change with an emphasis in Indigenous and Ethnic Studies. They hope to keep honoring indigenous ways and tools to address contemporary issues for healing individuals and communities. Fia is a long-time poet and co-facilitates workshops focusing on identity, reflection, art, and self-community care. Their life plan is to continue to love and serve our community by honoring our ancestors, ourselves, and future generations to come.

Isa Jolie – First Year Scholar. Isa is pursuing an undergraduate degree in urban planning & sustainable development at Western Washington University. They have been avidly involved in 2SLGBTQ+ rights and activism for much of their life and have found their niche in queer ecojustice, intersecting queer liberation with climate justice. They plan to continue their trek in establishing themselves as a public speaker and figure at various protests, strikes, marches and other events on top of seeking to address coming climate disaster that often leaves 2SLGBTQ+ people at the frontlines by becoming an urban planner.

Ro Boyce – Second Year Scholar. Ro attends the University of Washington and is pursuing an undergraduate degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences. Her hope is to continue the conversation and inspire LGBTQ+ youth, especially Queer Transgender People of Color to recognize their own power, to learn and be the transformation the world needs. Ro has made becoming a Speech and Language Pathologist her long-term goal to work with communities that are frequently marginalized and denied access to medical resources due to their identities.

Sam Lacet-Brown – First Year Scholar. Sam intends to study Cognitive Science at Tufts University. He hopes to find a way to make algorithms more inclusive by working to mitigate the amplified marginalization of minority groups such as people of color and the LGBTQ+ community that occurs with many machine learning models.