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| 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.
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