Honors College Student Selected As Point Flagship Scholar

Manuel Faria, who earned an associate’s degree in biology from the Wolfson Campus Honors College this May, has been selected as a 2021 Point Flagship Scholar.

The competitive scholarship is awarded by the Point Foundation, which seeks to help students who are members of the LGBTQ+ community achieve their academic goals, to twelve undergraduate and eight graduate school students. 

In addition to financial assistance, honorees receive admissions counseling, a personal mentor that ensures that the student remains on track to transfer, opportunities to participate in programs that develop leadership skills and access to the more than 300 Point Flagship alumni.

“I love social interactions,” Faria said. “I am very extroverted and I want those meaningful connections with people.”

During his time at MDC, Faria served as vice president of the STEM Association—where he researched computer science—and president of Model United Nations. He was also selected to attend the prestigious Salzburg Global Seminar in Austria and started an initiative to provide books for children in Miami and Ghana.

This May, he was selected to participate in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute—a summer program where MDC students can get research experience at the University of Miami—to research how the mitochondria’s circular DNA affects the aging process.

Faria will transfer to Stanford University in the fall to study neurobiology and minor in religious studies. He hopes to become a physician in the future.