From Coming Out to Calling In: A Success Story

FROM COMING OUT TO CALLING IN: A SUCCESS STORY

As an undergraduate student, I learned a lot about myself. Now I help create safe spaces for other people to do the same.

Let’s cut to the chase. As a freshman in college, I figured out that I am gay. Now, over a decade later, I live proudly as a queer leader in my community. In so many ways, I have NMU to thank for that.

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I moved into Halverson Hall (R.I.P.) eager to embrace all that college had to offer. Within a relatively short amount of time, I made friends with people across campus, joined House and Hall Government, and immersed myself in multiple aspects of student life at NMU. I joined organizations like Women for Women and the Student Finance Committee; participated regularly in intramural sports; and worked on campus in a variety of roles, including Resident Adviser, Campus Visit Program Assistant, and Orientation Staff Assistant. I declared Secondary Education as my major, and then I took nearly every English, History, and Gender Studies course I could fit into my schedule because I loved the content and my professors. One might say I was overzealous, but I was just having fun.

Now, I’d be lying if I said I was “out” in every one of the spaces I named above. The truth is, it took me all five years of college and then some to say the words “I’m gay” without feeling debilitating fear. While Marquette felt like a safe harbor in so many ways, we don’t live in a world where there’s universal acceptance for people in the LGBTQIA+ community. Not every interaction is pleasant; not every space is safe. That’s why my experiences and relationships at Northern were so critical to helping me understand who I am and how I fit into the world.

At NMU I was given countless opportunities to be a leader, to advocate for myself and others in the classroom and across campus. At NMU I was encouraged to start new student organizations, to work collaboratively with others, to create justice-oriented programs that invited people to share their talents and be themselves. At NMU I had professors who made sure I saw myself in the history and literature of their courses, challenging students to reflect on—and learn from—their own experiences and each other. At NMU I learned not only how to challenge myself, but how to truly be myself. Because at Northern, I belonged.

Now, as an educator, I have made it my personal and professional mission to help students, especially those in the LGBTQIA+ community, do and feel the same. Whether it was advising the school’s first-ever Gender and Sexuality Alliance, working with district leadership to expand protections for LGBTQIA+ students and staff, or facilitating professional learning on strategies for supporting minority youth, I spent my time as a classroom teacher and middle school administrator creating safe spaces for people to learn and grow. In my current position as Enrollment Equity Coordinator, my job is to help ensure all students have equitable access to safe, inclusive learning environments; in my volunteer positions with community organizations throughout the city, I strive to provide opportunities for others to see and believe in themselves. First as a student, and now as a civic leader, I am continuously reminded of one universal truth: when we feel like we belong, we thrive. This is the Wildcat way.

Takeaway

Finding organizations, projects, and professional relationships that made me feel safe changed the way I experienced Northern. During a time ripe with self-discovery and personal growth, I felt supported and empowered to be myself at NMU. This sense of belonging has been foundational for me as a person and as a professional. All students, all people, thrive when they feel that.