As if
we didn't already know that the City of Tampa is the greatest place to live,
Tampa continues to out-do itself in showing the world what a diverse and
welcoming city we are.
Mayor
Bob Buckhorn’s summed it up well on the City of Tampa website page when he
writes, ‘Tampa is home to a blend of cultures and traditions that make up the
unique fabric of our community.”
Well
today, that unique fabric found itself awarding one of the ten Tampa Police
Memorial Committee 2014 Scholarships to the teenager of a same-sex
couple. Shar Ishee, Tampa Police Records
Coordinator, and her wife, Pattie Maloney-Massanet, looked on as proud parents
of 18 year old Nicholas Massanet as he received a $1500 scholarship presented
by Chief Jane Castor and the Memorial Committee.
This
marks the first time that a same-sex couple, who legally married last September
in Washington, was recognized in the same fashion as other married
couples.
The
City of Tampa has recognized Domestic Partner’s for some time, but Chief Castor
and the Memorial Committee took it to the next level. After all, who could refute the
qualifications of this young man?
He
graduated from St. Petersburg Collegiate High School in May
with a 4.7 G.P.A., with over 66% of his college Bachelor’s degree already
obtained! Nick has set his sights on the
University of South Florida, where he plans to seek a medical degree. He wants to be a Doctor of Internal Medicine
and Infectious Disease.
Nick said, “I’m very excited to
receive such a great scholarship. I’m
thankful my mom and Shar were there, and even more thankful they are
together. Shar is good for my mom and my
mom is good for Shar.”
Other recipients this year included; Alexander Arnold, Brittany Buchanan, Kelsi Crean, Bolton Glyder, Erin McNamara, Matthew Milillo, Maggie Shearer, Kent Stephenson, and Emily Townsend.
Congratulations to all the recipients! And way to go Tampa!
Blog Contributor: Sgt. Anna Richardson, LGBT Liaison
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