Celebrating Pride Month!
Appreciating all LGBTQ+ optiMize community members
Here at optiMize we strive to cultivate a community of people who are compelled to make a positive impact in their communities. This culture only blooms because students are encouraged to embrace what makes them authentic and celebrate the identities that make them unique. We feel strongly that having a greater freedom of self-expression boosts passion and creates more intentional engagement with one’s community. This is so valuable both on an individual level through the development of very impactful projects, as well as on the larger community level by enhancing the synergy shared among the diverse purpose-driven individuals of optiMize.
Isaac Coenca, a current optiMize peer mentor and fellow of Cohort 8 & 9, shared their thoughts about the ways this organization reaffirms its commitment to gender and sexuality acceptance through deliberate actions:
“I think optiMize is intentionally trying to disrupt the way things are normally done and that is almost inherently queer. Asking questions like how can I make the world a better place directly involves making it better for LGBTQ+ and disabled people so naturally, there are LGBTQ+ projects and identifying individuals here in our organization and we’re a better community because we open ourselves up to those questions and are embracing change.”
The contributions to this community made by LGBTQ+ identifying individuals can not be overstated. We thank them for offering up their ideas, originality, vulnerability, and compassion for the sake of making optiMize as effective as possible in its advocacy efforts. They have made challenge participants and staff members of all identities feel like they have a home within our organization and have supported everyone in pursuing all forms of social justice.
We wanted to highlight some of the teams from past cohorts who developed projects that celebrate and advance the LGBTQ+ community. Their passion blew us away and their success has helped make the world more accepting and welcoming of diversity. Discover all the great work they are doing:
STAR Laces
Shoelaces that normalize pronouns
Cohort 7 : Isaac Coenca, Jordan Furr, Julia Reguera
STAR laces is an apparel company that sells shoelaces with personal pronouns printed down the side. The founders are marketing their product toward transgender, cisgender, and non-binary audiences in order to effectively promote and normalize pronoun usage amongst the general population. The STAR laces team is passionate about their product because there is little visibility for trans people, and they believe the laces are a discrete way that people can start conversations about intentional pronoun use. Their vision is to have STAR laces become an accessible tool and brand to normalize pronoun usage for everyone.
The Michigan Gayly
A monthly newspaper published by students at the University of Michigan within the LGBTQ+ community
Cohort 8 : Grey Weinstein
“The Michigan Gayly: LGBTQ+ Issues” is a monthly periodical consisting of articles focused on LGBTQ+ current events, politics, culture, and entertainment on the U-M campus and in the world at large. The paper creates an outlet of self-expression for Michigan students of all backgrounds within the LGBTQ+ community while spreading awareness of LGBTQ+ issues to queer and straight readers alike. They hope to start distributing their paper to local businesses, build partnerships with other student organizations and professors, and begin running advertisements to allow for a sustainable, self-funded model in the future. Ultimately, “The Michigan Gayly” aims to increase their reach and become an integral part of the literary community at U-M.
Ur Internet Friends
A cross-media platform that prioritizes the art and voices of young marginalized creatives while being accessible to these creatives
Cohort 8 : Isaac Coenca, Rachel Kennelly
Ur Internet Friends is a cross-media platform with an independent art magazine focused on prioritizing the voices and art of young (and young at heart) marginalized creatives. Isaac and Rachel created Ur Internet Friends to share the art of these artists in print and online so young creatives can see themselves represented in media. After the success of their first issue, they hope to release the second issue of their zine in print and online. Eventually, they want to create a network consisting of podcasts, print, and other multimedia platforms to highlight diverse artists and stories.
Read an article published by the Michigan Daily about Ur Internet Friends: U-M Students Scale Up The Fight Against Lack Of Media Representation
While this organization is so proud of the inclusive community we are fortunate to have, we have a responsibility that extends beyond supporting LGBTQ+ entrepreneurial efforts. We hold ourselves accountable for being knowledgeable and inclusive members of society through our unLearn/Learn initiative. We would love to share with you an ever-growing list of resources that have helped us become more understanding and hope they will aid you in the journey of self-education as well. Check them out below!