Past Graduates and Award Winners

This page includes some of the immediate past LBGTA graduates and award winners.

2008 Graduates

The Lavender Reception on April 26, 2008 honored this year's LBGTA graduates, who were each given the opportunity to convey a brief message for MSU LBGTA communities and share their career and/or life aspirations. The following graduates have agreed to share their remarks publicly:

Jordan Furrow - M.S.W.

Message: "Just as gender and sexuality exist along a continuum, so does oppression. The world is not neatly divided into oppressors and the oppressed, which means that most of us embody aspects of both, and that our individual experiences and struggles are intricately linked to those of others. Therefore, it is through collective liberation that individuals find freedom. Let us continue to work towards the collective liberation of all our communities."
Aspirations: "Jordan plans to move back to California to rest and spend some time with his parents before figuring out how to incorporate his many interests into working in solidarity with communities fighting for their own liberation and self-determination."

Jeff Grim - M.A., Student Affairs Administration

Message: "Celebrate, live, persevere, rejoice and be humble. 'Those who dare to teach, must never cease to learn.'"
Aspirations: "Dean of Students; higher education policy consultant to an elected official; executive director of a higher education association; esteemed faculty member of higher education; mentor."

Jos Johnson - B.A., German

Message: "You can't control what the world throws at you, but you can control how you respond to your surroundings. Just being at MSU, having the support of multiple communities and access to many services, allows us to do that. Don't settle; act."
Aspirations: "Teaching (and continuing to learn!) foreign languages, whether German, English, or otherwise, and making my way back to Freiburg, Germany."

Gareth McVicar - M.A., Student Affairs Administration

Message: "To the caucuses, keep doing all of the great work that you do!"
Aspirations: "Searching in Greek life and student leadership programs, and residence life, in both Canada and the U.S."

Michelle Nickerson - B.A., Psychology

Message: "I feel so honored to have met and had friendships with so many people during my years here at MSU. You all mean a great deal to me. We have all done amazing work on this campus. I look forward to seeing all the great programs and events you put on in the years to come."
Aspirations: "Work in a Multicultural Resource Center at a university. I also really hope to create some kind of program or center to provide high school age youth positive outlets that equip them with the things they need to be successful adults."

EdTrineise (Niecey) Page - M.S.W.

Message: "I challenge you all to make a change because, believe it or not, it is up to us–the young LGBTA generation–to change the way we are viewed and treated in this world. Never stop advocating for your rights, our rights, and our future generations'. And last but not least, 'No' is just a two letter word; it does not mean stop, it means we have not finished yet, but only just begun."
Aspirations: "After graduation I am moving to Texas with my fiancée, where I plan to get a job in my field working with older adults while looking for a Ph.D. program where I can pursue LGBT issues in general but also in relation to the aging population. When that is all said and done, I plan to start my own non-profit organization working with LGBT homeless youth and teens and also different affordable centers for older adults that will be for us and by us only."

Cameron Aleck Venier - B.A., Psychology

Message: "As we move on into the future, never loose sight of the past. The past is where we come from and can help us understand where we might be going."
Aspirations: "My career goals: After taking a year off of school and working in an inpatient facility, I plan to go back to school and get either my Ph.D. in psychology or my M.D. in psychiatry. My ultimate goal would be to be able to work with college students with chronic and severe mental illness, as well as students dealing with GLBT identities."

Scott Weatherman - M.A., Student Affairs Administration

Message: "A quote from the late mythologist, Joseph Campbell: 'Follow your bliss and don't be afraid and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.'"
Aspirations: "Scott is returning to Santa Barbara, CA to begin a new job at Fielding Graduate University where he will work with adult students. As his journey continues Scott will pursue a career in the healing arts and possibly become a life coach."

Ryan Webster - B.S., Family Community Service with a concentration in youth development and a specialization in health promotion

Message: "We have to march on. In times when activism seems to take a back seat to professional development it's important that we remember that the war has not yet been won. One of the most impactful messages that comes to mind is simply that 'warriors in pitched battle do not make their last will; they become it' and I whole-heartedly believe that if we the educated, the passionate, the privileged, remove ourselves from the front lines, the movement itself will suffer irrevocable damage. It's the passions that drive us that will solidify a career; I only can hope that as we embark on a new journey that we don't forget them."
Aspirations: "To become an HIV/AIDS & sexual health outreach educator and prevention specialist, and to do so fabulously... of course!"

Grace Wojcik - B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Science: public policy, cognate in sociology and specialization in women, gender and social justice, gender and sexuality

Message: "Think about how petty conflicts hurt the greater cause of full equality and your ability to be a resource to other students. Learn to recognize the privilege(s) you may have and work constantly to keep them in check."
Aspirations: "Moving to Minneapolis this summer to work with an LGBT or women's rights organization that is politically focused. Eventually, I plan on getting my master's and Ph.D. in women's studies in order to become a professor at a university."

Photos of the event.

Point Foundation Scholar

MSU senior Lauren Beach was the recipient of a 2006 Point Foundation Scholarship. "MSU Student wins LGBT Scholarship," article in the State News on July 7, 2006.