Brian Allen

(Submitted by Brian Allen, 2025)
“I haven’t lived or studied in western Maryland, so your scholarship isn’t about that. This scholarship is intended to recognize and encourage your choice to do that, wherever you came from and whatever you go on to do.

I’ve lived in Bethesda since 1994, moving to the area one week after finishing my undergraduate and law degrees in Texas, where I’ve established scholarships similar to yours. I’m familiar with western Maryland because I like to bike. I’ve visited Frostburg twice and western Maryland a couple dozen times during bike rides and will visit again. The areas surrounding the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal bike trails remind me somewhat of East Texas, where I grew up—not so many hills, but lots of trees and farmland, no big cities and sometimes a calmer mindset.

I work for the federal government now and have seen efforts to improve the world that we live in, and this scholarship is a small symbol of your place in the world. When I established this scholarship at Frostburg in 2025, it was during a time when being a visible LGBTQ+ person in Texas was becoming more difficult and fraught and draining and discouraging because of the actions of the Texas state government to create groups of “others” and divide people from one another. Maryland is steadily moving in the opposite direction, even if the moving seems slow at times. So, there are actions I can take to let the now and future contributors and leaders in western Maryland know that there are people who understand and want you, as a member of an LGBTQ+ student organization, to succeed and who encourage you to rely on your confidence and strength to reach your destination and beyond. I hope this scholarship is a modest step in that direction. Congratulations, and all the best!

If you could use a friend/mentor, please know that I am here to support you. If you would like to reach out to me, please contact the FSU Foundation office at fsufoundation@frostburg.edu and ask that they provide you with my e-mail address.”