ROCKLAND — As of August 8, OUT Maine has awarded a record number of educational scholarships to seven students across the state, according to OUT Maine, in a news release.

This year’s recipients are Avery Alsop, attending the University of Maine in Orono; Brianna Michaud, attending Southern Maine Community College; Grace Farr, attending the University of Southern Maine; Rose Chaloult, attending Saint Michael’s College; Roman Holland, attending Skidmore College; and Sasha Saedan, attending Bennington College. An additional student also received a scholarship to cover textbook costs.

Four of these students are new to the scholarship, and the other three have renewed their award for their continued studies. In total, OUT Maine is sending out over $52,000 in scholarships for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Thanks to a generous anonymous donor to the organization, OUT Maine is able to offer substantial renewable scholarships each year to help Maine LGBTQIA2S+ and allied students bridge the gap between financial aid and need at a college, university, or vocational school of their choice. The scholarships can be worth up to $25,000 every year for four years of schooling based on the student’s need.

OUT Maine wishes these students great success in their respective academic careers, and can’t wait to see all that they accomplish.

LGBTQIA2S+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning, intersex, and two-spirit. Allies are folks who do not identify as LGBTQIA2S+ but have camaraderie with the LGBTQIA2S+ community. Cis or cisgender means a person’s gender identity and sex-assigned-at-birth match. If gender identity and sex-assigned-at-birth do not match, a person may identify as transgender. For more definitions of LGBTQ+ terminology, visit www.outmaine.org/resources/terminology