GWSS student Leah Curtis publishes Story of Pride with The Trevor Project

Leah Curtis (she/they) transferred to UW Bothell as a Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies (GWSS) major this academic year and she is already a published author! Curtis, a volunteer for the national organization The Trevor Project wrote a piece for their blog series Stories of Pride. In it, Curtis speaks frankly to the predominantly young queer and trans kids who are likely viewing the page, seeking support. Leah tells them things she wishes she heard as a kid: “I want to show our beautiful young people that they are and should be loved, accepted, and celebrated exactly as they are.” You can read the short, powerful, and inspiring piece here.

Leah’s piece was the result of being enrolled in IAS faculty member Julie Shayne’s new class The Power of Feminist Writing this spring 2022. In that class students were required to create Feminist Writing Portfolios. Shayne gave the students a series of genres to choose from, one of which was activist writing. She told students that if they were volunteering with social justice organizations, reach out and see if they would like them to write something. So, Leah did and much to her surprise the Trevor Project eagerly jumped on the offer. Another student in the class, Jesse Blaire was published as a result of the class. Jesse had a My Story published on the UW Bothell homepage called “Fighting to be seen, fighting to be heard” which was inspired by their lived experience and the themes of the class.

The students in the class created fantastic work, inspired by the amazing guests that visited the class all quarter long. You can see some of the portfolios here, including GWSS students Katie Ward, Tessa Denton, and Audriannah Horne.