April 8 was an important day for MSU graduate student T.J. Jourian.

The advocate for transgender awareness was in Los Angeles accepting an award from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or GLAAD, for his involvement with the documentary "TransGeneration."

During the acceptance speech in the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, he knelt down to one knee and proposed to Staci Gunner, his girlfriend and MSU student.

Charlize Theron and the cast of "Will & Grace" gave the couple a standing ovation as Gunner accepted the proposal.

"We were looking at each other and there was yelling and clapping and screaming," Gunner said. "It took me a good minute to get out of shock."

Jourian and Gunner traveled to California to attend the 17th Annual GLAAD Media Awards because the documentary Jourian was in, which is about four transgender college students, was up for an award. Jourian said he was optimistic that "TransGeneration" would win, and had planned to propose to Gunner during the awards since he heard the film was nominated.

"It was a very strange feeling," he said. "I was confident about the documentary itself — in a way I had an idea that we would get the award because of the work we had been doing. I kind of pushed (the proposal) out of my mind. I didn't want my nervousness to give it away. I was able to play it cool. But when I got on stage and thought, 'Oh my God,' I really started getting nervous."

Damon Romine, entertainment media director at GLAAD, said the proposal at the awards was a statement for equal rights.

"Marriage equality is such a hot-button issue right now and topic for discussion because we don't have marriage equality," he said. "The fact that somebody makes a point of getting engaged at the GLAAD Media Awards is pretty powerful, and it's a pretty moving event."

Jourian said "TransGeneration" is being recognized for its fair portrayal of transgender individuals.

"This documentary has been completely groundbreaking," he said. "It's the first documentary to treat transgender people with honesty and integrity."

Romine said the documentary implemented dialogue about transgender issues.

"What 'TransGeneration' did was open a lot of eyes and create a lot of discussion around transgender issues," he said. "It provided human faces and human stories to really allow people to understand what a transgender person goes through."

"TransGeneration" is available on DVD and a follow-up episode is in the works, Jourian said. The GLAAD awards also will air at 9 p.m. tonight and at 2 a.m. Friday on VH1.

Jourian is an inspiration for other transgender students, Gunner said.

"The work he does isn't about him," Gunner said. "It's about everybody after him. I love him. He's an amazing role model, a really incredible mentor. I'm so proud of him."