THE LGBTQ+ CENTER
The LGBTQ+ Center strives to decrease inequity and increase a sense of belonging for people of all genders and sexualities at Wake Forest. We serve our entire campus community of undergraduate students and students in the professional schools, faculty, staff, and alumni through our five focus areas: education, advocacy, support, community building, and personal and professional development. The LGBTQ+ Center offers a number of ongoing programs and educational opportunities, as well as special events, throughout the year, and we maintain a lounge space lovingly referred to as a rainbow-filled second campus home for many in the Benson University Center. The 2023-2024 academic year began with both hope and challenge in August as the LGBTQ+ Center team onboarded a new Program Coordinator and welcomed new (and returning) students to a campus community where they could thrive, find community, and experience affirmation, while mourning the untimely passing of one of our recent dedicated alumni and inaugural LGBTQ Scholarship recipients, Omar Benjamin. However challenging the start, the year was full of successes, like the launch of a Qwake, a new leadership development program offered over the course of fall 2023 that centered queer identity in the context of leadership, and the cultivation of a cohort of thirteen undergraduate Change Agents, who participated in the Creating Change conference and experienced the transformative power of navigating the space in community with their peers. The LGBTQ+ Center closed the year by hosting Wake Forest University’s eleventh annual Lavender Graduation ceremony where twenty-one graduating students were honored and celebrated in community with fellow students, faculty, staff, alumni, and loved ones.
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ODI ANNUAL REPORT | JULY 1, 2023 - JUNE 30, 2024
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