Scholarship for gay, lesbian, bi teens - 'There was a lot of stress'
By Mark Price
msprice@charlotteobserver.com

To donate to the Griffin Scholarship, make out tax-deductible check to Time Out Youth. Designate as a donation to the Griffin Scholarship and mail to: Time Out Youth, 1900 The Plaza, Charlotte, N.C., 28205.

Juan Vazquez graduated from Garinger High Friday, still unsure whether he'll be able to afford his dream of becoming a high school English teacher.

But he is $2,500 closer this week, thanks to an unusual new Charlotte-based scholarship dedicated to students who have come out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered. Called The Griffin Scholarship, it is believed to be the first college fund in the Carolinas awarded on the basis of sexual orientation.

Vazquez, 19, came out to his mother in his freshman year.

“My parents' income fluctuates,â€