NKU student Natelie Smith spells her name a little differently than most that share it, and it was by her own doing. 

“When I was 14 and first deciding on my name, I misspelled it when coming out over text,” said Smith. “I never bothered to change it.”

Smith is a transgender woman who came out during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She shared this story with The Northerner when discussing Transgender Awareness Week, which is celebrated from Nov. 13-19 each year. According to LGBTQ non-profit GLAAD it is “a week when transgender people and their allies take action… by educating… by sharing stories… and advancing advocacy.”

The week also leads up to Transgender Day of Remembrance, celebrated on Nov. 20. Founded in 1999, the day is meant to honor transgender people who have lost their lives to violence. The day started with a vigil created by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith to honor the life of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who died the previous year.

Smith and other transgender students reflected on what the week means to them and how being at NKU has helped them to grow in their identity. 

“I think Trans Awareness Week is really about being able to unabashedly be transgender,” Smith said. “It’s a time where you can just truly be your beautiful, trans self.” 

Skie Pleshinger, an NKU student who also started discovering their identity as a trans woman during the pandemic, said that Transgender Awareness Week is all about community.

“It’s showing that we, the queer community, and specifically the trans community, are there for those who need it,” Pleshinger said. 

Both Smith and Pleshinger felt that the isolation of the pandemic is what led to much of their self-reflection, but being on campus is what helped them to thrive in their identities. 

“In high school… it was really tough to be queer and out and all that,” Smith explained. “I’ve never really had queer adults in my life to really guide me, and this campus gave me that.”

The Center for Student Inclusiveness, located on the third floor of the Student Union, is home to LGBTQA+ Student Initiatives (SI).

Queer students often find a sense of community in the various student organizations LGBTQA+ SI offers. 

Maddie Chapman is a non-binary student who is involved in several LGBTQA+ SI organizations, like The Gender Initiative (T.G.I.) and Common Ground.

“The clubs on campus made me really express who I am,” Chapman said. “I met so many people that really respect me for who I am.”

Milo Pendergrass, a trans male student in his first year at NKU felt similarly to Chapman about the transition from high school to college as a queer individual.

“There’s so many more communities than what I had in high school,” Pendergrass said. “A wider variety of people.”

For others like Ben Robinson, coming to NKU was where the journey really started.

Robinson had always known something was different about them, but it wasn’t until college where their thoughts on their identity started to blossom.

“I realized there’s definitely something there, I just don’t know what it is,” they explained. 

When Robinson first started going to T.G.I. meetings after questioning their identity, they said they felt pressured to present a certain way. 

“I thought I had to present differently without realizing, that’s not the goal,” Robinson said. “It’s just who you are.”

NKU’s own vigil to honor Transgender Day of Remembrance can be found on the second floor of the SU. Smith said it is meant to remember those who had lost their lives to anti-transgender violence as people, not just victims.

“I think this vigil serves as a good way to remember these people,” she said. “To show them the respect they should’ve gotten in life.”