Tell us more about your organization you founded (Our Group) and is there an Israeli equivalent.
So Our Group is an outreach and support network for LGBT student-athletes and allies. I started building the foundation for the organization in 2007/2008 after I transferred from West Virginia University to Purdue University. I realized in my experience as an out athlete that I was extremely fortunate to have accepting teammates (an also two other out teammates) and that this was something special and unique. I knew that there were other LGBT athletes who did not have a person to open up to about their gender or sexual identities. I wanted to great the structure for other campuses to start support groups and also a way for out athletes to share their stories with other people. Unfortunately, outside of the US there is no other organization similar to Our Group, since organized intercollegiate sports is something quite unique to the US. But, we have worked with the Federation of Gay Games and other LGBTQ sports organizations on different panel discussions and other activism platforms.
How was your experience in the sports world being gay?
I had a very interesting experience. I was closeted until my sophomore year of college (even though I came out to my mom and some friends in high school) but during my freshman year of college I dated a teammate. It was a very difficult experience for me because as a student-athlete, you spend anywhere between 8-10 hours a day with most of your teammates, and hiding something so huge that was right in front of their faces was difficult. Things became even harder after my boyfriend/teammate and I broke up during the NCAA Championship meet my freshman year and we had to be around each other all of the time. After the breakup I came out, but it was a very difficult time in my life. My teammates were supportive and great for the most part, but it was difficult in many ways for me to be out on my team at West Virginia University. I decided to transfer to Purdue University to start my junior year of college and to start with a fresh slate. At Purdue I was completely accepted and never faced any issues being gay on the swim team or within the sports community at school. I feel very blessed to have had such a positive experience, because I know many other athletes who did not have the same positive experience.
You recently took part in the World LGBTQ Youth Leaders Summit in Tel Aviv, how was your experience?
The Summit was quite remarkable in many ways, from the group of participants that were hand picked by the organizing committee, to the workshops/lectures we participated in, to the experiences that we were able to enjoy (e.g. visiting Jerusalem, East Jerusalem, the Knesset, etc.) throughout the week-long conference. I know that each and every one of us left the summit feeling more empowered and with new skills that we can take back to our home organizations. All of the participants decided at the end of the summit to create a network, which we have named RCAN (Rainbow Coalition and Activists Network) so that we can stay connected and continue the dialogue that we began in Tel Aviv from anywhere around the world.
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