INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Seth Owen's teacher had set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for his college.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 parent's 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
"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
His parents questioned him around that time one night until 4:30 a.m.They then sent him to a Christian counselor, he said."It was not like a
conversion camp, but it was definitely awkward conversion therapy where they tried encouraging stereotypical masculine tasks and things like
that," Owen said.The disagreements started coming to a head his final year of high school."I started bringing up my disagreements with the
I mean, there was just incident after incident," Owen said
"They talked very negatively about the LGBTQ-plus community
They said that gay people would not serve in the church
Then they were talking about transgender people as though they weren't human, and that really, really bothered me."His parents would not let
him attend a church of his choosing, he said
His father, Randy Owen, told First Coast News that the family did not force Seth out."As far as kicking him out because he wouldn't attend
the church we attend - that's a lie," he told the ABC affiliate
"I made clear we are not kicking him out, but we worship as a family
He's allowed to live here as long as he worships the same way we worship."Seth Owen told NBC that he hopes to send a message to others like
him."I remember growing up and saying I had really strict religious parents, and people would brush it off," he said
"If someone were to say that to me today, I would sit down, and I would ask them, 'What's going on What's going on at home What's happening
What kind of messages are being preached in your church' "(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent
staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
