Isis Walker is DePaul's LGBTQIA+ Resource Center coordinator. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)
All students need to be uplifted and supported during college, especially during the first couple of years. But certain populations may need even more attention and encouragement than others. One such population are LGBTQIA+ students, and at DePaul, one safe place where they can reflect and become their best selves is in the LGBTQIA+ Resource Center.
“My favorite part of my job is being able to establish connections and rapport, and serve as a mentor to queer students,” says Isis Walker, the new LGBTQIA+ Resource Center coordinator, who started in the role in October 2022. “I love to see them reflect on what they want for themselves in their lives, grow and take advantage of all the opportunities presented to them during this time.”
LGBTQIA+ centers at universities across the nation give queer and exploring students a safe place to come out, and to experience the full range of identities in the LGBTQIA+ community.
“If I’m a queer student from a small town in Ohio, my understanding of the community may be somewhat limited,” Walker shares. “But, now I’m in a big city for college and I have a resource center for me and others like me. I’m able to see the lived experiences of all kinds of queer, transgender and gender expansive people.”
This exposure allows for full exploration of this aspect of students' identity, but also creates a more inclusive LGBTQIA+ community at DePaul.
One big part of the job of the coordinator is to develop and offer programs and workshops that help to educate the community on LGBTQIA+ history and issues.
“As I completed my graduate degree at Iowa State University and later worked in LGBTQA services at the University of Toledo, I learned so much about queer history that I didn’t learn as an undergraduate,” Walker says. “I came to believe misunderstandings of the queer experience are rooted in erasure from standard curriculum. Educating people about the community became very important to me."
Walker doesn’t have to do this work alone, though. Six student employees that work across all four identity and cultural centers at DePaul also contribute their energy and ideas, and foster an intersectional space where all students feel safe and accepted. This helps create a sense of belonging for queer students.
“We help them understand they’re not alone and are part of a community, which ultimately supports their success at DePaul,” Walker says.
Currently, Walker and the student employees are planning Queer Prom on Jan. 20, and the Spring Drag Show on May 10. Walker is excited to collaborate with the Office of Student Involvement and the Student Government Association on both events. They also are in the process of revitalizing the Queer People of Color group for winter quarter. QPOC is primarily led by the centers’ student assistants and creates space for queer and transgender people of color to find community.
“I’m really interested in elevating the queer and trans people of color, or QTPOC, population,” Walker says. “LGBTQIA+ work on campuses has been historically very white. As a black queer person, I think it’s important I champion QTPOC issues. One way to do that is through these events and the QPOC group.”
Ultimately, Walker does this work because it’s an identity important to them and they want to see increased understanding and support for the LGBTQIA+ community.
“Queerness, in all of its forms, should be celebrated, not just tolerated,” they say.