In my freshman year as a member of 88.9 WQSU-FM, I took part in the new podcast opportunities offered and hosted a new podcast called “LGBTQ-SU.” Once a week, I would research, write, record and edit a 20-45min. episode focusing on various queer topics including basic terminology, health and wellness, current events and more. The very first episode was actually an introduction to me and my background as a queer transgender student, in order to introduce the show itself and develop a rapport with me and the audience. At the time I was running an Instagram account for my activities at WQSU, including updates and teasers about episodes.
I find advocacy work to be the most rewarding work I can do, and had some of my favorite WQSU moments while working on the podcast. I intended to continue the podcast into the following year, but was forced to pause the project in order to focus on school work as well as make time for other advocacy opportunities, like joining the LGBTQ Task Force as the only student representative to solve problems for queer students at Susquehanna University. This podcast allowed me the chance to dive deep into my community’s history, discuss difficult topics, and keep the public informed about valuable information regarding the queer community.
In my last semester in Scotland, the podcast got a sort of spin-off in the form of my talk show, “Queer and Questionable.” In this format, I would choose a controversial or “questionable” topic each week and present arguments from both sides, and then end with a short segment on my own opinion of my findings. Some weeks were only related to the queer community to the extent that the issue heavily affected many of this in the community, such as drug use and sex work, while other weeks were specific queer issues like transgender athletes and the ethics of hormone replacement therapy.
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