GWS Student Stories

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Jacqueline Adams (2014) Education and Training Coordinator, LGBT Resource Center at Bowling Green State University

2^nd Year Doctoral Student in American Culture Studies and the Performance Studies Graduate Certificate Program at Bowling Green State University

The GWS Certificate I completed at WKU has shaped how I define my utopic views of the academy! I entered my graduate program in hopes of finding a place of belonging.  My lesbian, survivor, and class intersectional identities often shaped my experiences in professional and classroom settings, but I did not share my identities prior to entering a GWS course. The professors in the GWS program created space for me to feel at home while completing my graduate program. I was able to come out to my community and family through the course of the program. I came to better understand socially constructed spaces and identities so I was prepared and competitive when entering the job market. I worked for local government serving 10 counties in Kentucky for one year after completing the Social Responsibility and Sustainable Communities M.A. program and the GWS graduate certificate. I finished both of these degrees within two years and I graduated with distinction which made me competitive for Ph.D. programs. 

The diverse opportunities afforded to me while completing these degrees were unique to these two graduate programs. Since graduating I often reflect on my graduate time with a nostalgic hope that I will find a place in the academy like GWS & SRSC again! The cohort, professors, and staff in the SRSC and GWS graduate programs build a beautiful, challenging, and deeply caring space for graduate work. I would make the decision to attend these two programs over and over again!