Born in Quincy, Illinois, and raised in New Bern, North Carolina, John Scholz received his B.S. degree in Business from UNCW in 1984. While at UNCW, he was a member of the Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity, Phi Beta Lambda Business Fraternity and the Sigma Alpha Beta Honorary Business Fraternity.
Scholz moved to Los Angeles where he soon met his future husband and soulmate, Anil Mohin. Scholz worked for several years in Legal and Business Affairs at Paramount Pictures then Universal Studios. He became a member of one of the first LGBT business associations, the Valley Business Alliance, where he served as Membership Chair and Secretary.
As Mohin’s medical practice expanded, Scholz worked as his operations manager before returning to UCLA to study journalism and screenwriting. Scholz went on to work in entertainment journalism conducting celebrity interviews, writing entertainment news articles and covering red-carpet events.
Today, Scholz keeps busy with various writing projects. In addition, he volunteers several hours each month at The Trevor Project, an organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQIA youth.
John Scholz has a passion for lifting-up the next LGBTQIA generation and he has never forgotten his North Carolina roots and affection for UNCW. The Mohin-Scholz LGBTQIA Resource Office was born from this with resolute support from his husband, Anil Mohin.
Anil Mohin started from humble beginnings in a small village in India. The village had no electricity and the bathroom facility was an outhouse. He learned some of his first words of English from Peace Corps workers sent there by the Kennedy Administration. Anil’s earliest memory was studying under a gas lamp … and study he did.
As in many Indian families, education was highly valued and parents expected their children’s unwavering commitment to it. The hard work paid off and Mohin was admitted to Delhi University. Upon graduation he was accepted at the highly respected Center for Academic Advising of Medical Sciences.
With a medical degree in hand, he made his way to America with the dream of being a practicing physician. Mohin continued his education in New York and upon passing his Medical Boards set his sights and dreams on California. Mohin soon met John Scholz, UNCW Alumnus and soon-to-be the love of his life on New Year’s Eve and they became domestic partners. (He and Scholz later married on New Year’s Eve, after it became legal.)
Mohin began practice at Kaiser Hospital in Los Angeles and upon passing his Cardiology Boards joined a private practice near Hollywood as their cardiologist. Little did he know, an epidemic was looming around the corner. Within a year, the height of the AIDS crises struck and Mohin found himself on the front lines practicing alongside physicians who are now considered the early pioneers in HIV/AIDS research and treatment.
It was a harrowing time for medical practitioners and many cardiologists did not want to treat AIDS patients and those that did wore a type of “medical spacesuit” to avoid direct contact. Mohin, however, chose another approach…the human touch and became widely respected for his compassionate care.
Today, Anil Mohin enjoys a thriving Cardiology Practice in Beverly Hills where the cardiology medical treatments have advanced from those early days but the compassionate care remains the same. He loves to take a personal approach where he expounds the value of exercise, good nutrition and no smoking! He appeared on the reality TV series “Celebrity Fit Club” and recently earned his black belt in mixed martial arts.
Scholz and Mohin strongly believe in the principle of “giving back” and, in addition to UNCW’s LGBTQIA Resource Office, have supported many organizations including the Los Angeles LGBT Resource Center, GLAAD, Outfest and The Trevor Project.