This Sunday, students, faculty and special guests will collaborate in the name of LGBT youth advocacy at this year’s Life Gets Better Together conference.

The event will kick off with a breakfast at 10 a.m. in front of the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium, followed by six workshops on critical topics such as LGBT reproductive rights and violence in the LGBT community.

For Nicole Zamoida, student co-chair of the conference, LGBT youth advocacy means more than empowering the youth of today.

“LGBT Youth Advocacy means gaining the framework and knowledge to be able to provide and create a safe and accepting environment, in the present and in the future, for the young people that identify as LGBT,” said Zamoida, a writing and rhetoric major and LGBT studies minor.

Zamoida became involved in the conference through her involvement in Pride Union, the student organization dedicated to supporting and enriching the lives of LGBT individuals on the Syracuse University and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry campuses.

“I started as a blog writer and social media person, and at the end of last year, I was offered the position of conference co-chair,” Zamoida said.

As co-chair of the conference, Zamoida took part in brainstorming potential speakers with other group members, completing budget requests and putting together the event’s schedule. She also took part in developing the theme of the conference: “Times are Changing.” The theme speaks to the representation of the LGBT community in the media.

“The LGBT community is becoming more visible in the media; television shows such as ‘The Fosters’ and ‘Orange Is the New Black,’ athletes coming out such as Michael Sam and Jason Collins and books with the growing LGBT genre,” Zamoida said.

The theme will be strongly displayed during the keynote speaker panel, where SU professor Roger Hallas, the director of the LGBT studies program, will provide an introspective look at the LGBT community in academia. Greg Victory, the Career Services director for the Rhode Island School of Design and a 2006 SU alumnus, will provide important information on the representation of the LGBT community in careers and jobs. Tiffany Gray of the LGBT Resources Center will moderate the panel.

Sara Ryan will also speak of her experiences writing in LGBT Young Adult fiction, a rapidly growing genre. The first 50 people to register for the conference will receive a free copy of Ryan’s book, “The Rules for Hearts.” The LGBT young adult author will also lead a writing workshop, in addition to sitting on the keynote panel.

The event will conclude with an a cappella concert in Hendricks Chapel at 6 p.m. Admission is $5, and all proceeds from the concert will benefit The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization that focuses on suicide prevention in the LGBT community.

Said Zamoida: “I’m hoping that people attending the conference will walk away with a mindset that will help promote a better world for the LGBT community and its youth.”

Published on April 10, 2014 at 2:00 am

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