My time with the QSC as the Programming Intern (essentially the event planner) was an incredibly rewarding experience. I got to engage more deeply with, and curate events specifically for, the local Queer community. The highlight of my year as Programming intern was BiPanel+, a Conversation on Multisexuality. This event was a passion project of mine based on the often harmful perception and stereotypes that exist of multisexualty and people with multisexual idenities. I wanted to create a safe space for folks to talk about their lived experiences and strategies for dealing with these perceptions. With over 60 folks in attendance, BiPanel+ was by far our most popular event (besides the annual QSC Ball and Drag competition, of course). As the Programming Intern, I got to learn how to manage a budget, book performers and venues, manage schedules (including the hectic day-of-event organization), and even how to make a GIANT rainbow balloon arch.
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That February, I performed an original monologue in the ASUW Womxn's Action Commission's ______ Monologues. My monologue was 12 minutes of comedic gold about...my eating disorder. It's risky to make jokes about something so personal and emotional, especially when the resolution wasn't so clear, but comedy has always been the filter though which I process the world. And the audience loved it! It also helped that I referenced Gossip Girl, Glee, Scream Queens, and other smash hit TV shows. My monologue took a firm stance against the causal and problematic way that the media portrays eating disorders and made a direct connection from their influence to my relationship with my body.
This was one of the scariest and most rewarding things that I have done so far in my 21 short years. Standing up there, feelings the lights, and listening to the laughs changed my life. I couldn't go back to sitting in my room all night with a calculator. This night was my first writing credit (unless you count my high school graduation speech) and directly set me on my path of short films, satire news, and full length plays. |
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Honors 233: Sweden: World Leader in Diplomacy and Human Rights was unlike any class I had taken up to that point. We were expected to crawl our war through thick and confusing government documents, stay on top of world news, write our own policy recommendations while acting as Swedish government officials, and I even played the role of Margot Wallström, Deputy Prime Minister and highest ranking diplomat of Sweden.
This course introduced me to international relations, Nordic culture, and the global (and surprisingly, the national) struggle for LGBT equality and basic human rights. I got to hear from so many strong and accomplished female diplomats and activists, including our incredible professor, Dr. Elise Carlson-Rainer. I appreciated and connected with Dr. Carlson-Rainer so much that I even followed her to Stockholm the next summer to learn more about Sweden's role as a global human rights defender straight from the source. This course inspired me to consider a career in public service, something I am still very much interested in as I move through to graduation. |
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The summer of sophomore year, I took a course with the Spanish, international award-winning writer and director, Felix Viscarret. Felix challenged us to tap into our "primal urges" to churn out a uniquely personal short film with all of the writing, directing, and editing happening in one short month. Sticking to my brand, I decided to create a short and extremely personal comedy about a girl who continually tries and fails to come out to her father who, for whatever reason, cannot understand bisexuality. With my sister (an experienced thespian) and cousin as the only actors and nothing to pay them with but frozen blueberries and $27 in H&M Store Credit, we spent a hilariously fun weekend getting all of the shots and voiceovers we needed. Although my editing and camera skills can use some serious work, especially in comparison to some of my classmates, I am proud of how Five Steps for Coming Out (With Pictures) turned out. Felix taught me about active characters, following a plot structure, and how to make something that appeals universally, you must first make it personal.
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