“I think even that is swamped by a lot of confusion.”Įmily Silverio-Williams at Gay Pride 2018 in New York City, photo courtesy of Emily Silverio-Williams. “ how much that thinking that I had to be with a man-shaped my identity, but I think as I got older and had access to resources that I could read about and come to terms with my own sexuality I was able to identify as bisexual,” she said. She also said that at her high school there were other LGBTQ students, however, it was still difficult for her to come to terms with her sexuality. “Two of my uncles are gay and growing up I knew two close family friends that were trans women,” she said. She was raised in Orlando and has known about the LGBTQ community since she was young. She identifies as female and bisexual and her pronouns are she/her/hers. It’s where I find hundreds of brown girls like me waving their rainbow flags proudly.”Įmily Silverio-Williams is an 18-year-old freshman digital arts major. “That same year I fell for a girl, had my first queer relationship, and started attending Pride religiously. “ I got to college and learned about the riot grrrl scene from the 90s that I realized there were other outlets for gender expression,” she said. “I’m taking this time to internalize all the queerness I have to really allow myself a deeper understanding of my sexuality and gender,” she said.īeing a queer Latina woman growing up in the suburbs of Miami, Luciano said she felt disconnected from her peers both socially and culturally. She also recognizes there are different ways to express queer pride. She credits her partner whom she FaceTimes often with, as helping her still feel connected to the community. Luciano is disappointed that Pride is canceled this year because it is her favorite event out of the year. “I never forget how lucky I am to have a space where I can unapologetically be myself.” “I really do see it as a large protest, a day where the trans/lesbian/queer pioneers rebelled and risk their lives to pave the way for a safer future although now it is celebrated as a giant party,” she said. Krystal Luciano at Pride at Washington DC 2017, photo courtesy of Luciano She has been to Pride for the last four years, and since her first Pride, Luciano has enriched her knowledge of LGBTQ history. She is 25-year-olds and a Junior English/Creative Writing major. Krystal Luciano is a queer lesbian, her pronouns are she/her and they/ them. “It does get a little isolating sometimes, I miss seeing my friends in person. I’m involved in a lot of LGBT clubs, so I’m in a bunch of group chats and it’s nice to meet up with my friends over video chat,” she said.
Sobera came out to her parents in that same eighth-grade year and according to her they were accepting about it because they’re young and liberal.ĭespite the social distancing, Sobera stays connected to her community with FIU LGBTQA group chats. When he brought his partners over he would refer to them as his partners so I thought he meant business partners,” she said. “What’s funny is that my uncle is gay, but I had no idea. “I just naturally assumed that the order of things was as a woman I would get a husband, we would get married, and then my best friend and her husband would move in and we would all raise our kids together,” she said. Sobera began her LGBTQA journey in the eighth grade when she realized simultaneously that “being gay was a thing you can do” and that she had a crush on a classmate that was also female. “I feel like going to Pride and being in an environment where I’m surrounded by people like me would really make me feel normal for a bit.” “My high school didn’t really have a lot of LGBT kids around so it was really easy to feel isolated,” she said. Marketing at A.F.S. Intercultural Programs, George continued his involvement in international programs until moving to Miami Beach to become Executive Director of the Miami Design Preservation League in 1991. Seven years later, he accepted the position of Associate Vice Presidentof Cultural Tourism at the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, where he received its Employee of the Year award and worked for twenty-seven years until his recent retirement.Photo of Isabelle Sobera, Courtesy of Sobera. He was a recruiting consultant for Operation Crossroads Africa and recipient of its Outstanding Program Director award. Vincent, West Indies, and later worked for the agency in Washington, D.C. He volunteered as a teacher with the Peace Corps in St. Anselm College and later studied atthe Columbia Graduate School of Business and The New School for Social Research in New York City.