I'm a gay 20 year old who only very recently came out, and I alongside many other queer youth in Florida have had to grapple with the legislation being passed by the Governor and his radical state legislature. I struggled for the longest time to find community in the rural county I live in, but over time I found community through activism through the Hillsborough County LGBTQ+ Democrats, as well as other groups. I've done voter registration, petition gathering, and helped provide people with contraceptives, HIV tests, etc. My major was inspired largely by the fact that I want to help bring change to United States foreign policy, as well as just an extreme desire to work in the UN or in other international settings. I strongly believe in international cooperation as the future for the world collectively. Whether it be the advancement of human rights, climate change, economic parity and prosperity, etc. It will also help us come closer together as a world, and will help us avoid much of the horrors that our forefathers had to witness, and what we ourselves have had to witness. I was born in 2003, my mom had me when she was 19. We practically grew up together, and we kind of always never had much wealth when I was younger. My early years of youth were spent in a cramped little apartment in a duplex. I never complained and my parents always did the best they could to provide for me so that I could never notice our situation. I've always been interested in history, government, and politics as a whole; starting when my mom took me to an Obama campaign rally in Tampa in 2008, I remember my mom telling me I had a gleam in my eye when I saw then Senator Obama speaking to all of us in the crowd. I took that passion into high school, dedicating more of my time to JROTC and band then political groups, but I really shined when I graduated high school and went into college. I started protesting and organizing and I felt great about it; This was what I really wanted to do and I knew it. I want to bring change, I want to secure the rights of the LGBTQ+ youth in Florida and beyond, and I want to help bring change to the government to bring more Gen Z and queer representation. This year has been defining for me as I've really found myself fully steeped into activism, and its dramatically altered my plans for the rest of my life. In it I've found community, and I wouldn't trade the feeling for anything.

I'm a gay 20 year old who only very recently came out, and I alongside many other queer youth in Florida have had to grapple with the legislation being passed by the Governor and his radical state legislature. I struggled for the longest time to find community in the rural county I live in, but over time I found community through activism through the Hillsborough County LGBTQ+ Democrats, as well as other groups. I've done voter registration, petition gathering, and helped provide people with contraceptives, HIV tests, etc. My major was inspired largely by the fact that I want to help bring change to United States foreign policy, as well as just an extreme desire to work in the UN or in other international settings. I strongly believe in international cooperation as the future for the world collectively. Whether it be the advancement of human rights, climate change, economic parity and prosperity, etc. It will also help us come closer together as a world, and will help us avoid much of the horrors that our forefathers had to witness, and what we ourselves have had to witness. I was born in 2003, my mom had me when she was 19. We practically grew up together, and we kind of always never had much wealth when I was younger. My early years of youth were spent in a cramped little apartment in a duplex. I never complained and my parents always did the best they could to provide for me so that I could never notice our situation. I've always been interested in history, government, and politics as a whole; starting when my mom took me to an Obama campaign rally in Tampa in 2008, I remember my mom telling me I had a gleam in my eye when I saw then Senator Obama speaking to all of us in the crowd. I took that passion into high school, dedicating more of my time to JROTC and band then political groups, but I really shined when I graduated high school and went into college. I started protesting and organizing and I felt great about it; This was what I really wanted to do and I knew it. I want to bring change, I want to secure the rights of the LGBTQ+ youth in Florida and beyond, and I want to help bring change to the government to bring more Gen Z and queer representation.