Student Perspectives – “Being Truly Myself”: Queer and Trans+ Perspectives on Community-Engaged Learning with Gary-Grace Ribeiro

For the first episode of CELebrate Learning, host Garry-Grace Ribeiro (they/them) speaks with three self-identifying queer and trans+ UVic students on topics such student’s roles as educators in community, the connection between community and self, place and belonging, and how our engagement with community leads to social change.Guests Sam Bottrill (they/them), Eliver Verdugo (they/them) and Matilde Cervantes (she/they) also share what it feels like to do community-engaged work and how it helps us address the problems that are important to us and empowers us to dream of alternatives through a queer lens.About the guestsSam (they/them) is a non-binary white settler living, working, and studying on the traditional territory of the Lekwungen Peoples (Songhees and Esquimalt Nations). They recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Victoria and are currently working as a Youth Recovery Support Worker and Anti-Violence Worker. Sam's community work began in a seminar course, SOCI 439: Community Engaged Sociology, where Sam created a 2SLGBTQ+ clothing swap. Sam's research interests include healthy queer relationships.Eli (they/them) is a Master’s student in the Social Dimensions of Health program at the University of Victoria (UVic), BC, Canada; they are also a student of the Chair of Transgender Studies, Dr. Aaron Devor, at UVic and the International Partnership for Queer Youth Resilience (INQYR). They have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, specializing in social psychology, from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAMX) in México City. They advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in their home country and community in La Paz, México, where they founded an LGBTQ+ non-profit: La Paz es Diversa.Matilde (she/they) has a rich background in psychology and psychotherapy with 15 years of experience in private practice in México. Maty graduated with a Master’s in the Social Dimensions of Health. She is currently a Doctoral candidate (Interdisciplinary Studies) affiliated with the Institute on Aging & Lifelong Health at the University of Victoria and the Centre for Global Studies. Their doctoral project is exploring peacebuilding and social transformations through arts-based and Indigenous worldviews within the Planetary Health framework.