GoFundMe raises $102,000 for gay valedictorian

On paper, everything was going well for Seth Owen. A valedictorian of a high school in Jacksonville, Florida, with a 4.16 grade-point average, the 18-year-old had been accepted to Georgetown University as part of its Class of 2022.

But he had left his parents’ house in February after they had given him an ultimatum to attend their church, after years of disagreements related to his sexuality — Owen is gay — or move out, he told NBC News. And Georgetown’s financial aid package for him had been calculated based on what his family was expected to contribute, leaving him with a $20,000 gap to pay the tuition for his first year.

“I started to cry, because I realized there was no way that I could go to college,” Owen told NBC News. “Georgetown was my only option, because I had already denied my other acceptances.”

The school would not change his financial aid package, NBC News reported.

“While we cannot comment on any individual case, we work closely with students whose financial circumstances change after admission to modify financial aid assistance and ensure they can still enroll regardless of their ability to pay,” a school official told NBC.

Luckily, a former teacher stepped in. Jane Martin, who teaches biology, set up a GoFundMe account to raise the money for Owen’s first year’s tuition.

“Seth was just a kid that really stood out to me,” Martin told NBC News. “He was super ambitious and was always trying to go above and beyond to make sure he could be as successful as possible.”

A month later, the account has wildly exceeded its goal, raising more than $100,000.

“After we had hit $2,000, Seth was just like, ‘I’m so surprised that people, like, actually care about me,’ ” Martin said.

The two plan to use the donations for scholarships for other students in situations like Owen if Georgetown adjusts the financial aid package.

Owen spoke to NBC about his upbringing. He said that his parents, who are Southern Baptist, discovered that he was gay as a sophomore when his father found a photograph of him with another guy that indicated that he was gay.