Graduate student provides leadership for 2SLGBTQIA+ organization

Monday, June 17, 2024

As a first-year student in the Faculty of Engineering, Arden Song joined EngiQueers, a group that provides an environment of mutual support for 2SLGBTQIA+ engineering students.

Song took on a leadership role with EngiQueers, helping the organization keep going through the pandemic.

For Song, the beginning of university coincided with profound realizations around her gender identity. Navigating this change in the new context of post-secondary education was immensely challenging. EngiQueers provided a space for Song to socialize and feel at home. Through attending regular meetings, she was able to find community and a very important support network. That’s why Song decided to take on a leadership role in the organization, eventually becoming a two-term president.

Pandemic restrictions forced EngiQueers to move their activities online which greatly reduced the cohesion and effectiveness of the group. So when restrictions began to ease, Song was eager for the opportunity to reenergize EngiQueers. “At that time, I was one of the few people who had been there before COVID-19,” she says. “I was the only one who remembered what it was like before.”

Go to Keeping spaces open for 2SLGBTQIA+ students for the full story.