February is LGBTQ+ History month, and here at ECSA we are celebrating our LGBTQ+ students and staff that are part of our college community.
In today’s world queer people are more and more visible, but it’s just as important if not more so now to raise our voices and share our stories and joy.
I’m Charlie, some may know me as Caitlin. I am a trans masculine non-binary person; my pronouns are he/they and I am also a proud bisexual. I came out as bi when I was around 14 years old and came out as trans when I was 19.
As a student I studied Music at Sighthill, and for the first time in my life I was surrounded by a variety of queer people. This was amazing for my self-esteem and allowed me to become more confident in my identity. There was an amazing sense of community amongst my peers, and we all worked hard to support each other. This was a totally different environment from high school, where I had been one of a handful of people to be openly queer in my year.
Following on from studying, working with ECSA has been a fantastic experience and has allowed me to meet and work with some of the most awesome queer students. We have set up and run a successful LGBTQ+ Society and I am working closely with the college’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead Nina Munday on LGBTQ+ Inclusion. This work has led to new inclusion posters that are to be displayed around the campuses and promotion of the college’s Trans and Non-Binary Inclusion Policy.
Something that is incredibly important to myself, and I am sure to many others, is that despite the uncertainty and troubled times surround queer, and particularly trans people, highlighting our joy and happiness is one of the best things we can do. Getting to go through life as a queer person in today’s world is such a unique experience, and one we are sure to look back on with much pride. And getting to share it with each other makes it all even better.