|
 |
| Bob Pileggi/Courtesy Live Out Loud |
"Live Out Loud": Exposes young gays and lesbians to successful role models
Leo Preziosi wanted to help. Growing up, Preziosi had experienced the anxiety sometimes suffered by young gay people like himself who might feel socially isolated and alienated. He dreamed of breaking the cycle of suffering by exposing high school and college-aged gays and lesbians to gay role models who had succeeded in all the ways they were feeling they never could. But he didn't know where to begin.
In one of Landmark's programs, Preziosi selected a community project. The program gave him the courage, confidence and tools he needed to make his longtime dream a reality. "My coach was amazing. He said, 'Don't wait. Just set the date for the first [program] and it will happen.'" Preziosi followed his coach's advice and has never looked back.
The "Live Out Loud" organization Preziosi founded reaches out to gay youth in the New York City area at colleges, high schools and community centers, granting scholarships and facilitating panel discussions where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender professional role models can meet and talk with young people. Gay journalists, authors, filmmakers, actors, rabbis, ministers and business executives, among many others, share their stories and talk about their lives with young people.
"There are a lot of young people who are really struggling and are not sure how to navigate the waters," Preziosi says. "Through the programs we offer, young people can see that with courage and confidence, these role models have made it through and are comfortable with themselves, their world and have created successful careers."
Preziosi would like to see "Live Out Loud" available on video for schools and colleges across the country so that other young people who are really struggling with being gay can see the path others have already mapped.
"They found a way," Preziosi says of these trailblazers. "They dreamed their dreams and now they're living their dreams."
The same might be said of Preziosi.
See more articles about Grads Making a Difference.
Share with a friend:   
|
