Preferred Name: Quincy Brown

Pronouns: they/them

Program/Major: Political Science (major), Gender Studies (major)

“I was introduced to the gender studies program in my first year on campus when I took a course on political economy, race, class, and gender with Dr. Gunseli Berik. That semester I was also in a gender studies course with Dr. Ella Myers. I knew from my discussions in Myers’s class and my experience in Berik’s class that gender studies was something that I would enjoy learning more about. At the time I was dedicated to creating change by being a criminal defense attorney and I believed that a gender studies degree would be helpful in helping me in that field.

“However, after learning more about the criminal punishment system, I no longer saw that career as an option for me. While I was trying to figure out my new path, I was in a social justice facilitation class with Prof. Kilo Zimora, and I was taking the Gender on the Hill course, learning about community lobbying. Through these courses, I realized how important social justice frameworks are to having difficult conversations because they bring together knowledge about both system level and individual level injustices. Around the same time, I decided to pursue some psychology courses to improve my understanding of how individual lives are affected by broad social and cultural factors. My current career plan is to follow in the footsteps of my mother and grandmother and pursue a career in therapy. I believe our political world and personal worlds are deeply interconnected and that to attempt to heal one without the other is unrealistic.”