In celebration of Pride Month, we asked members of Tuck Pride—the Tuck community’s LGBTQ+ resource and support group—to reflect on their goals, accomplishments, inspirations, and passions.
The Tuck and Dartmouth community’s Pride 2022 theme, The Colors of Pride, represents the endless spectrum of gender and sexual identities, along with the many other backgrounds, that our community represents.
Gender Pronouns: He/Him/His
Hometown: Redlands, California
What does Pride mean to you?
Pride is the celebration of everyone’s right to show up as their full authentic self—at home, at work, at school, in public, and everywhere in between! Pride gives LGBTQ+ the space to feel visible and celebrated for every part of who they are and can also act as a source of inspiration to those who might not be out yet.
In reality, we still have a long way to go in making society at large fully accepting of LGBTQ+ people, and to me, Pride is a month dedicated to celebrating how far we’ve come, but also recognizing the part we all must play in how much further there is to go.
What keeps you busy? How do you like to spend your time outside of work?
Outside of work/school, I enjoy getting outside as much as possible to go snow skiing, road cycling, mountain biking, hiking, or ATV riding. But I must admit I can also be found inside plenty, enjoying board games with friends or watching the most basic reality TV imaginable (shout-out to RuPaul’s Drag Race and The Bachelor franchise). However, my favorite hobby would likely have to be that of being an uncle—I have three nephews and two nieces that keep me young and act as some of my biggest inspirations.
What do you believe are the components of a “good” life?
I think a “good” life is best defined by the degree to which we leave behind a better world than we found. Whether that means giving service to your community, volunteering as a counselor, donating to charitable organizations, or getting involved in political advocacy for issues/communities you care about, the best success we can have is positively impacting the world in a way that will make the generations that follow us safer, more included, and more prosperous.
What is your vision for the future? What do you believe will be a defining issue of the next 20 years?
My vision for the future is one where LGBTQ+ people are born into a world where they can be fully accepted and validated for how they identify, regardless of where and into what family they are born. I envision a world where LGBTQ+ youth are universally encouraged to be excited about what their life can become, instead of disproportionately more likely to take their own life.
I believe a defining issue of the next 20 years will be how legislative and judicial decisions in the United States either continue to increasingly protect the rights of LGBTQ+ people or instead start regressing those rights and making queer folks feel marginalized like in times of old.
Gender Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Hometown: A weighted average would be somewhere over the Atlantic
What does Pride mean to you?
Living authentically, proudly, as just yourself and nothing else.
Describe an ah-ha moment for you—a defining moment that changed the course of your life, career, or altered your way of thinking.
When I was an undergrad at UW-Madison, I ran for the Student Judiciary of the student government. I was the first person of color on Student Judiciary, and eventually the first woman of color to be elected chief justice. After years of schooling as one of a handful of non-white students, my election to this position shattered barriers and altered what I perceived as accessible to me. I was using my voice as part of a platform that I did not expect to be available.
I used my position and tenure to help disadvantaged students in any way possible: rewriting Title IX practices on campus, allocating funds justly to newly formed student clubs, speaking out on actions of the police department, and introducing national politicians at Get Out the Vote events.
I learned how to claim spaces that I felt unwelcome in, and more importantly, I inspired those like me to use their voices, too.
What’s something about you only a few people know?
I’ve been playing the violin since I was seven. It was an enormous part of my life growing up—I spent at least 40 hours a week learning, practicing, performing, and teaching.
What does diversity, equity, and inclusion mean for you today, and in your words, why is it so critical?
My favorite quote about this is, “Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance; and belonging is being able to dance like no one is watching,” (Montrece McNeill Ransom). I love this sentiment, but often equity is overlooked. To me, equity is the cornerstone of DEI/DIB efforts, because if not everyone has equal access and opportunity to enter the very spaces we want to redefine, we can’t make sustainable progress.
What have you recently, read, watched, or listened to that you enjoyed and would highly recommend to others?
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Many Voices, One Tuck celebrates the stories of our vibrant and diverse community. What's your story? Email DEI at Tuck if you'd like to contribute to the MVOT project.
Note: MVOT is open to members of the Tuck community, including students, alumni, faculty, staff, TEE and Tuck Bridge participants, and MHCDS graduates.
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