Tyler Dillard

Point Scholar: 2006-2008

Rice University
B.A., Political Science and Policy Studies

Tyler was born in a small, conservative town in lower Alabama to two teenage parents. His grandparents adopted him at a young age and raised him as their own. Tyler knew that he was gay from 11 years of age, but feared rejection if he publicly acknowledged his sexual orientation. He redeemed his self worth with extracurricular activities, impeccable grades, and countless leadership positions. He graduated both valedictorian and president of his class and received scholarships to Samford University, a Southern-Baptist institution in Birmingham, Alabama.

Tyler revealed that he was gay during his college career. As a result, he endured rejection from his family, prejudice from friends, and harassment from other students. Nevertheless, he was still elected president of his class and president of several other organizations on the conservative campus. After his sophomore year, Tyler transferred to Rice University with the help of Point Foundation. As a student at Rice, he served as Vice President of both his college and campus LGBT organization “Queers and Allies”, graduated with honors in American Politics and Music, and worked with the United Nations. With the UN World Food Program, Tyler led a team to secure $3.9 million through the U.S. Department of Labor for home-grown school feeding programs which removed children from hazardous forms of labor and placed them in sufficient educational programs. During his senior year at Rice, Tyler won the prestigious George J. Mitchell Scholarship and subsequently studied for his master’s in international human rights law at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Tyler is now studying for his law degree at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He plans to practice law in the United Kingdom and Ireland upon graduation. Tyler is an accomplished musician, winning several local, statewide, and national piano and vocal competitions. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, is in the process of completing his personal memoir, and is a certified skydiver.

Through the support offered by Point Foundation and his mentor Herb Hamsher, Tyler recently reunited with his biological father and is rebuilding his relationship with his adoptive parents.