Active participation in a professional organization, leadership role in a student organization, membership on a community board

Finding My True Self
by Wynn Beck

In November 2018, I went to the oSTEM conference hosted in Houston, where I was able to participate in several panels and conversations surrounding the topics of being out and how that affects being in and working in STEM, and intersectionality in general. I was also able to speak to different employers who were open minded LGBT friendly and speak to representatives from those companies who were also LGBT+.

Not long before the conference, I began coming out as trans. I was still discovering what being trans meant to me, and what the impact of that was going to be on my career. At the conference, I was able to talk to other trans people in STEM, and I obtained a lot of information and resources for being out as trans while still being able to work in a lab.

This experience focused on my personal experience, rather than my academic studies. However, my academic studies allowed me to be a panel participant where I was able to speak to working in STEM. As an asexual agender person, I was able to contribute a different viewpoint to conversations, as the intersection between my sexuality and gender provides me with a different experience to share. At the employer expo, I got the opportunity to speak with a few representatives about the research their companies are involved in, and was able to obtain a few job opportunities with big companies that I would not have otherwise gotten the opportunity to apply for.

The conversations I had while at the conference are ones that will stay with me for a lifetime. I learned ways to make being my authentic self in my work place easier and safer for me, and was inspired to come out to my parents as agender. I was able to form connections with people from various cultures, making me more open minded about people who are not necessarily exactly like me and whose experiences differ greatly from my own. My post-graduation plans were affected because I am now applying to more companies than I would have applied to before, and those companies are located all across the country, and are doing a wide variety of important research. This experience also helped me by giving me the resolve to be my authentic self in everything I do. I would not have had the courage to come out to my parents if it weren’t for the conference, and I am a better person for going. It also encouraged me to start speaking up more for my own rights, but also for others. I know these things don’t seem quite as big to some people, but to me, and other LGBT students, meeting people like me, and gaining the courage to be myself, means a lot to me. After the conference, I feel like I’m allowed to be myself.

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Introduction to Social Activism
by Alexis Sayoc

Throughout the summer of 2018, I traveled along the east coast to Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York to attend various cultural events. I was very fortunate in that I was able to attend eight different events and meet an incredibly diverse group of individuals, from the Japanese Tanabata Festival, the Manayunk Arts Fest, the Sama Sama Filipino Martial Arts Conference, and Anakbayan to name a few. Through these events, I worked to gain greater multicultural awareness and strengthen my advocacy for my Filipino-American identity. However, it wasn’t until I met Anakbayan (meaning “children of the nation”), an activist group that fights for national democracy in the Philippines, that I realized how much I still need to learn. I met chapters from New Jersey and New York and attended their four-week summer school program to learn about the political/social issues affecting the Philippines.

This was extremely important to me because I am so proud of both my Filipino and American cultures. I have a responsibility to know the issues affecting my countries, and I know that I’m in a position to act. Throughout my time at Penn State, I’ve been working to unify the collegiate Filipino community on campus and across the east coast, and I have been a strong student leader for diversity and inclusion. I know that I’ve made an impact because I was able to facilitate communication between Anakbayan to District 5 of the Filipino Intercollegiate Networking Dialogue and further introduce other students to social activism for the Philippines. I’m especially proud that I’ll continue to make an impact by continuing my efforts in social activism and by spreading awareness of the opportunity I had and my experience.

By taking a class on intercultural communication and by pursing a minor in Spanish, I was able to use these courses as an introduction for this experience. It was really amazing being able to apply these concepts directly, and truly maximize my experience. I definitely felt more confident in exploring other cultures respectfully and appropriately as a result.

This experience has definitely opened my eyes to how vast a culture really can be and how to appreciate all aspects of cultural identity. Additionally, this experience introduced me to social activism and applying civic responsibility. Following graduation, I intend to further pursue public policy and continue to make an impact on marginalized communities facing systematic oppression and systematic racism.

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