Rachel Johnson
University of Northern Iowa

"There are upwards of 18,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) college students in the state of Iowa, and many more that identify as allies. The Iowa Pride Network College Coalition serves as a voice for these students and helps provide a sense of community.

As an executive board member of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Allied Union (GLBTAU) at the University of Northern Iowa, I’ve come to rely on the networking the Iowa Pride Network College Coalition provides to help me and my LGBT group come up with new and exciting programming plans and ideas. Listening to other LGBT groups from around the state share ideas helped me understand how different and similar out LGBT groups are, and how we can all help each other become stronger forces for change.

I also had the opportunity to serve a spokesperson at the College Coalition’s first coordinated event: the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Allied (LGBTA) Student Day at the Capital. It was so powerful to see dozens of LGBT and Allied high school and college students standing up for their right to be safe in school. Our joint press conference with Lt. Governor Sally Pederson helped open my eyes as to how powerful students’ voices can be when we unite together for a common cause. It was an amazing experience!"