I was so excited in class when we finally had a lecture where part of the class discussion was designated to address LGBT topics in OT. It was during professional development lecture in my final year of OT school where I found enough passion and frustration to start my lifelong mission for enhancing education, inclusion, representation, and advocacy for those within the LGBTQIA+ community, inside and outside of healthcare settings. I was fortunate to have incredible faculty, family, and friends who supported and challenged me with my crazy ideas like starting a community wellness clinic on campus or creating the official D’Youville OT instagram page – which is where the idea of grew from. OT school was challenging, energizing, and fulfilling. I applied to 9 schools originally and decided to attend D’Youville College in Buffalo, NY for my combined BS and MS of human occupation and occupational therapy. That is the same age that I decided to pursue an education in occupational therapy. I came out “officially” at the age of 17, or as I would prefer to say it, I started to let people in to who I am at 17.

I always found the idea of ‘coming out’ as strange or forced, but like many other LGBTQIA+ individuals I went through the same process on my journey to self-discovery and establishing my identity.