We are thrilled to announce the winner of our 2024 BIPOC Mental Health Academic Scholarship: Maia Pruim!
Maia Pruim has been passionately advocating for the mental well-being of marginalized youth since 2020. With a background in education, she began as a mentor at the Brooklyn Avenues Shelter for Homeless Youth, where she focused on LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness, providing personal counseling, and leading discussions on their struggles.
As a BIPOC member of the LGBTQ+ community, Maia can personally understand many of the challenges her clients face. She states, “As a Black and Latina trans woman, I am intimately aware of the struggle and inequality that marginalized youth face. I aspire to become a therapist because I believe that mental health support for racial minorities and LGBTQ+ individuals is most powerful when provided by someone who understands their context. There is a desperate need for more providers from these communities, and I aim to meet this call.”
Maia graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2024 and began working at Reclaim in the fall as a therapist. She is also co-authoring a study with Dr. Kerry Diekmann on BIPOC LGBTQ+ intersectionality and student feelings of belonging. Maia frequently advocates for intersectionally marginalized youth, having spoken at the 2024 Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health conference and at the Minnesota State Capitol for the 2024 Transgender Day of Visibility alongside Rep. Leigh Finke and Councilwoman Andrea Jenkins.
Even early in her career, Maia has demonstrated signs of becoming a pioneering leader in mental health care. We eagerly anticipate the positive impact she will continue to have on our community, particularly for underrepresented LGBTQ+ and BIPOC youth.
Congratulations, Maia!
About the BIPOC Mental Health Scholarship
The BIPOC Mental Health Academic Scholarship, offered annually by the North Memorial Health Foundation, aims to support the diverse community we serve by providing tuition assistance for students of color enrolled in mental health graduate programs. This initiative is made possible through the generosity of our donors, and we extend our heartfelt thanks for their invaluable partnership.