Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania, is a town of less than 20 full-time residents, but it hosts a million visitors a year. It offers the great character of small-town America
IMAGE: Provided
A native of Pennsylvania and 1983 graduate of the College of Agricultural Sciences, Conrad said his gift to the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity was inspired by his lifetime journey as a gay man and by his dedication to supporting the LGBTQ+ community. As a first-generation student coming from a small, rural community, Conrad faced many challenges in his undergraduate experience, compounded by his experiences struggling with his sexuality and negative stigmas about the LGBTQ+ community in the early 1980s. Conrad endured a lack of support and resources for the LGBTQ+ community, as well as sometimes outright hostility, while earning his degree in agricultural business. Those same experiences persisted as he began a career in business where, if revealed, disclosure of his sexuality at that time could have resulted in a loss of employment or derail his career.