Winning a scholarship named after Melissa St. John felt especially personal to Ky Walker. He has known her for years through the local drag community, and he said she helped shape the world he grew up in.
“She’s amazing, and to me, she’s such a pillar of our community,” Walker said.
St. John is a beloved advocate and drag queen in South Florida. Launched by OutSFL, the scholarship named in her honor awards $1,000 to an LGBTQ+ student in Florida who demonstrates a strong commitment to community service and giving back, with preference given to applicants whose service directly impacts the LGBTQ+ community or who live in South Florida. Funds must be used during the 2026 academic year.
Walker, who is currently pursuing his master’s in social work at Florida Atlantic University, started attending Compass Community Center’s youth program as a teenager. He said the group saved his life.
“It just meant everything to me, and it was my safe place for so long, so when I became an adult, I started volunteering,” Walker said.
He started as a volunteer HIV tester, then began helping with Compass’s young adults group, Entourage. Later, he joined the Compass staff in HIV prevention outreach and eventually took over running Entourage, which he still does now.
Last fall, Compass lost funding for its HIV prevention work, Walker said, and he moved into a new role.
“I am the brand-new community health case manager,” he said. “It's a brand-new program that we're building.”
Walker helps connect people to physical resources, such as housing, healthcare, employment, and transportation. He also just started Compass’s trans care program.
“So now I support trans folks anywhere they're at in their journey," Walker said. “I get to support them and provide that one on one guidance, knowing that I've been there.”
Walker, by his own admission, wears many hats. But all of them come back to the same goal: making sure someone else finds the kind of safe place he once needed. For Walker, the scholarship is both a recognition of his service and support for the next step, finishing his master’s in social work.
