Alyssa Poey (she/her)

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Identity: Ally

What motivates you to be visible on campus?

In an ideal world, everyone would be accepted for who they are – what pronoun they choose, their sexual orientation etc. Unfortunately, we are far from this. At URI, my hope is that students feel more than just accepted, I want to celebrate who they are and make sure they know that they are part of a supportive and welcoming community at URI. That’s why I feel it’s important to be visible so that there’s no doubt – they’ve got community here.

In a previous position at a different school I worked closely with the LGBTQ+ community on the language used in the study abroad housing questionnaire to ensure it aligned with the university housing policy to include the university’s statement on the importance of an inclusive and diverse community. I hope to work closely with this community at URI and to find ways that I can be more inclusive in the work I do and that my office does on campus.

In general, I look to try and delete the he’s and she’s out of the vocabulary and any documents I am working on or reading – and change it to theirs. Although these are small details, everything needs to reflect the inclusive environment we are trying to promote. I also try and make it a habit of saying my pronouns to alert students that I care about their pronoun preference.