Center hires LGBTQA program coordinator
Members of the lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual (LGBT) community and USU Student Services officials say they are excited to work with a new hire at the Access and Diversity Center. USU alumna Brooke Lambert started Jan. 2 as LGBTQA program coordinator, filling a position left vacant for the fall 2011 semester.
Lambert said she looks forward to helping all students, but especially members of the lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual (LGBT) community.
Lambert graduated from USU in 2008 with a double major in physical education and health education. Lambert also played on the USU women’s rugby team and served as the club’s president in 2007 and 2008.
“I love the Utah State climate, and I’m extremely excited to be back,” Lambert said in an interview during winter break. “I’m excited for the students to get back so we can start working together.”
Lambert replaces USU’s first LGBTQA program coordinator Maure Smith-Benanti, who left the position in the summer of 2011 for a similar job at the University of Oregon.
Addressing her plans as program coordinator, Lambert said, “I would like to continue on with what Maure was doing: making sure that we have a safe climate on campus and that all students feel welcome and that we have a space for LGBT students to come and connect with each other and to have a place to hang out.”
Multiple students who are members of the LGBT community said they approve of Lambert’s appointment.
Matthew Volk, a junior studying communications, took part in the committee tasked with finding the new coordinator and said he had the opportunity to interview Lambert.
“I was impressed by her ability to relate to the students,” Volk said.
Volk said he hopes Lambert’s experience as a sports coach will help her as program coordinator.
“Her job is a lot like coaching,” Volk said. “One of the things I have high expectations for her to do is to connect the students and be a hub for the activity that’s going on in the LGBT community. At the same time, there’s a lot of one-on-one work that needs to be done.”
As the committee searched for a new program coordinator, other Access and Diversity Center employees took over some of the duties. Associate Vice President for Student Services Eric Olsen said the center has been short staffed, and Lambert can pick up part of the load.
Part of the LGBTQA program coordinator’s role is to assist students who are coming out, or identifying with themselves and others as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, etc.
People who come out often choose to do so while attending college, Olsen said.
“They’re dealing with family and friends and sometimes a religious background that is counter to them coming out,” Olsen said. “That coordinator position is there to be a mentor and to provide support to them in many areas of their life.”
Kennedy Tripp, a junior studying business administration, said the LGBT community felt the absence of a program coordinator last semester.
“Last semester was very chaotic for a lot of students, especially students who were coming out,” Tripp said.
Students are sometimes forced to seek new housing arrangements when they come out, Tripp said, and the coordinator can help them find that housing and the necessary financial aid.
Many students who come out move to another area or drop out of college altogether, Tripp said, and the LGBTQA program coordinator can help students stay and complete their education at USU.
Lee Austin, a member of USU’s LGBT community and a former student, said she agreed that the interim was difficult and she’s glad a new coordinator is in place.
“We had our wonderful interim coordinator Rachel Brighton, and she did as much as she could do — which was amazing — but it was really hard and the students really had to step up,” Austin said.
“We felt a lot less — I know it’s weird to say — a lot less safe,” Austin said. “Walking on campus, holding my wife’s hand, I didn’t have a problem with it last year. This year, it was kind of scary to do.”
Austin said LGBT individuals still experienced trials when the former program coordinator was in place, but they had someone to talk to when bad things happened. She said while she appreciates the work others in the Access and Diversity Center did for the LGBT community during the interim, she’s glad the center has a staff member designated to address the community’s concerns again.
– steve.kent@aggiemail.usu.edu