My name is Elysium McCullough and I am a freshman this year at Old Dominion University. I am double-majoring in Women’s and Gender Studies and Sociology, with a focus on social work. I use they/them pronouns, as I am a genderfluid lesbian, someone who fits squarely outside of the imposed gender binary. As such, I am a member of the Spectrum LLC, and a representative of the Ast*erisk Advisory board. On campus, I work closely with the Associate Dean of Students, since I am a student worker in the Dean’s office. In the next semester, I will be beginning as a Resident Assistant on campus as a means of furthering my leadership skills and expanding my resume. My main goal, both on campus, and for my future, is to create a safe space for queer and transgender youth.

I was raised within a community that was not exactly welcoming for people such as myself, which is why I intend to do everything within my power to create a space for queer and trans kids which is welcoming, and is safe for them, like the ones which I have found here. Thus, I am taking courses spanning many different disciplines outside of my majors, which allow me to further my understanding of the world from the perspective of varying disciplines. I am highly motivated in everything I do, with a strong sense of leadership which only emboldens my motivations further.

Before taking these courses, I had a number of internal strengths and external skills which have been enhanced by the teachings of my professors, as well as developing new skills that have helped me build my professional and academic profile. Some of these strengths include empathizing with others, a strong attention to detail, as well as providing insightful commentary in conversations with my peers. I have demonstrated these strengths by building solid connections within my community and peers, being able to catch minor details which may not be obvious for the typical reader or listener, and either facilitating or participating in thought-provoking discussions in a number of my courses.

In regards to skills which I have developed in my courses, I am able to better take an intersectional approach within my analyses, participate and analyze in interdisciplinary discussions and research, in addition to developing an openness and understanding of individuals whose experiences I cannot directly relate to. I have developed these skills by being asked to consider how different perspectives would be impacted or react to specific issues or representations, being introduced to a number of foundational approaches which can be applied to any discipline, and being exposed to as well as learning about other minority populations, including how they interact with and are reacted to by the world at large in order to understand the implications for how these minorities are impacted by ideas which I may not consider otherwise.