Santa Fe College senior Apoorva Bangalore Raviprasad, an astrophysics major, left India for the United States in 2022, feeling confused about how the future would unfold and struggling with her identity.
“I didn't know anybody or anything, and I wasn't even fully out yet,” Bangalore Raviprasad, 19, said.
Bangalore Raviprasad finally found her peace at SFC’s LGBTQ Resource Center.
The center opened in 2021, focusing on providing resources and support for LGBTQ students on campus. Students can benefit from assistance in mentorship and advocacy, to accessing technology and educational guidance. The center also helps students legally change their names and pronouns and offers a “queer closet” where students can donate or select clothing.
“I spend almost every day there between classes,” Bangalore Raviprasad said. “It's a place that I feel like it’s my second home because it’s given me so much comfort.”
Bangalore Raviprasad has found friendship through social events and appreciation of her community through volunteer activities as an active member at the center, she said.
JoJo Sacks, the resource center’s specialist, oversees the center’s goals and fulfills her duties by assuring the center is a safe environment for students.
As a member of the LGTBQ community herself, Sacks, 26, believes these spaces are crucial for students.
“[In college] I really relied on the queer community I had around me and the resources that I had available to me,” she said. “We really need to continue to be one of those.”
Sacks watched the center grow and hit many of its milestones, she said.
“We've had lots of amazing events that have been able to increase education on a college-wide basis about different queer issues, days of remembrance, also sexual education for all people around this campus,” she said.
The center observed HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day on May 6 and hosted an event highlighting the severity of HIV and encouraging the use of different medical resources.
SFC is sharing resources about getting tested as a part of the several events the center is hosting for Pride Month, Sacks said.
Mary Enos, a 17-year-old SFC health sciences sophomore, has interacted with the resource center, learning about the different services it offers and the events it holds.
The center offered to add her into their Canvas page and they also shared other resources like hotlines, she said.
Enos recalls her experience transitioning into the LGBTQ community as confusing.
“It took a lot of figuring out who I was, and I’m still doing that to this day,” Enos said.
Enos believes college helped her cultivate an environment where she can feel safe expressing her identity, she said.
“I met a lot of people that helped me discover who I am now and I am lucky enough to have a huge support system to help me through finding my identity,” she said.
Jade Morrison, a 19-year-old SFC business sophomore, usually heads over to the center for an enjoyable mental break.
“All the little activities they have in front of the library are so cute and so much fun,” Morrison said.
For many years, Morrison struggled with accepting her identity, but she’s found a place where she’s content and confident.
“The resource center makes me feel welcomed and appreciated,” Morrison said.
The center has positively contributed to the well-being of many students, but as of right now, there are no plans to grow, said Asha Brunings, the SFC executive director of diversity, equity and inclusion.
“At this point, the college does not have any plans to expand the center,” Brunings said.
Brunings described the center as meeting its current and foreseeable needs.
However, Sacks believes even with the number of accomplishments already met, the center still has more to achieve.
“I think it would be wonderful to have just a larger reach and be able to host education on a larger scale,” Sacks said. “It's very challenging these days, not knowing what's going to happen with the legislation that's out — People rely on safe places like this one.”
The center plans to host several interactive events during June to honor and celebrate Pride Month.
Contact Nicole at nbeltran@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @nicolebeltg.
Nicole Beltran is the Fall 2024 Senior News Director and El Caimán Editor. She's reported for El Caimán, University and Enterprise desk. In her spare time, she enjoys journaling about her day, watching movies and drinking matcha.
