Kaite Fife was recently named a Point Scholar by the Point Foundation, an organization that gives scholarships to LGBT students. Fife was this year’s valedictorian at Dallas’s Talented and Gifted magnet school.


1 How does it feel to be named a Point Scholar?
First of all, I feel absolutley honored to be a part of the entire Point Foundation. They do amazing things. It’s hard to find the words to describe how excited I am and what exactly this means to me. So many doors have been unlocked by the Point Foundation that I didn’t have before.

2 You were the president of your high school’s gay-straight alliance. Tell me about some of the challenges and successes you faced in that role.
The GSA at my school is one of the only ones in the Dallas school district. It was really hard for me because I had never been president of a club like GSA before, so I didn’t really know what I was supposed to be doing. But it came together. Our first couple of turnouts where huge. We had the room filled with students, about 40, which is a big deal for any club at my school.

3 How was the GSA received by the school’s administration?
Our sponsor was very enthusiastic about GSA. And our administration is tolerable but not, I would say, entirely enthusiastic about it. There were several times that we would put up posters around the school, and they would get torn down or the administration would refuse to allow them to go up in the first place for reasons that weren’t really very solid. When we complained, nothing would really be done. It was a love/hate relationship. Somewhere in the middle.

4 What challenges face LGBT youth today?
Being misunderstood by their peers, family and community in general. Growing up as a gay youth is a really difficult feat, in that not many people seem to understand the concept of homosexuality. They are outcasted by peers and community.

5 What most excites you about going off to school at the University of Texas?
Really flaunting my individuality in college and gaining a great social network in the LGBT community at UT.

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Soundout is a weekly column featuring people whose jobs and interests have an impact on the daily lives of members of the LGBT community. It features those who often go unnoticed by the press and community. If you’d like to recommend someone to cover in this column, editor@dallasvoice.com.