Setting the Stage to Flourish: Supporting LGBTQIA2S+ Graduate Students

Abstract

The lived experiences of LGBTQIA2S+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Two Spirit) doctoral students remain an area for deeper exploration and understanding in the higher education landscape. Higher education administrators and faculty often focus on the well-being and social integration of undergraduate students where the greatest source of revenue is generated. To this end, our story about how doctoral students can educate faculty in this space is of great significance. The term student-centered is often used generically, but each student’s center and lived experience are not the same. To be a true student advocate for the LGBTQIA2S+ population involves vulnerability, unearthing uncomfortable truths, and active listening. Thus, support can be an inherently kind word or one that is empty blanket terminology for being nice. We (the faculty) want to do more than be nice, smile politely, and pretend to understand the student; this takes effort, altruism, character, and the ability to say teach me about your lived experiences. The student has to feel a high level of trust and the depth of fortitude to tell their truths that are often painful and not articulated to more than two or three close others, much less faculty members. This article focuses on the lived experiences of two straight faculty and a doctoral student who is part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. We share our collective narratives, so that you can build yours.