17 grads honored at Lavender Graduation, Chancellor's Awards honor contributions to GLBT Community

Wednesday, May 2, 2018 17 grads honored at Lavender Graduation, Chancellor's Awards honor contributions to GLBT Community

Participants in the 2018 Lavender Graduation

Eleven undergraduates, two graduate students and four doctoral student participated in the Tenth Annual Lavender Graduation hosted by the LGBTQA+ Resource Center on Thursday, April 19. The ceremony honored graduates as well as individuals whose outstanding contributions have positively impacted the LGBTQA+ community.

Donde Plowman, Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer, presented certificates to recipients of the Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Contributions to the GLBT Community. The following individuals were recognized:

  • JD McCown, a graduate student in Educational Administration
  • Lawrence Chatters, a staff member in Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at the University Health Center

The LGBTQA+ Resource Center presented additional honors to Sage Volk, recipient of the Drs. Crompton and DIaz-Perdomo Scholarship, and Robin Bowman, who was recognized for her ongoing contributions as a volunteer for OutSpeaking at the Center.

Graduating students received certificates and commemorative rainbow tassels to recognize their achievements. Continuing a tradition that began last year, the LGBTQA+ Resource Center awarded purple leadership cords to students who exemplified leadership within the center.

Undergraduate Degrees
*Alex Foutch, B.A. in Communication Studies with a Sociology minor
*Derrick Gulley, B.S. in Child, Youth and Family Studies with English, Education and Human Development and Family Studies minors
RaeAnna Hartsgrove, B.S. in Environmental Studies with English and Community and Regional Planning minors
*Aryn Huck, B. A. in English with Computer Science and Business minors
Meghan Leadabrand, B.A. in English and German
Miranda Melson, B.A. in Sociology, French and Global Studies
*Cassandra Pyle, B.S. in Actuarial Science with Finance, Economics, Statistics and Mathematics minors
Cody Robinson, B.A. in Music and German
Claire Shea, B.A. in Political Science and Psychology with Spanish and Women's and Gender Studies minors
Grace Stallworth, B.A. in Sociology and Psychology with English and Political Science minors
*Eliza Thor, B.A. in Sociology with a Political Science minor

Graduate Degrees
Maggie Fischer, M.A. in Educational Administration
Zachary Palmer, M.A. in Educational Administration

Doctoral Degrees
Erin Bertram, Ph.D. in Creative Writing with a specialization in Women's and Gender Studies
*Lauren Segal, Ph.D. in Plant Pathology
Alexis Swendener, Ph.D. in Sociology
Brandi Woodell, Ph.D. in Sociology with a Women's and Gender Studies minor

*denotes student was a leadership cord recipient

When students choose to participate in the Lavender Graduation, they can identify an advocate to recognize. Individuals recognized by graduates included Derrick Gulley, Pat Tetreault and Stacey Waite.

Now in its tenth year at Nebraska, Lavender Graduation began in 1995 at the University of Michigan as a program to recognize the challenges of being openly LGBTQA+ or openly connected to the LGBTQA+ community.

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