Alexandra Bevan
Ansonia High School students Maqila Mosley-Williams (left) and Rasheed Martinez (right).
ANSONIA – A delegation from Valley schools will head to the United Nations on March 28 to learn about LGBTQ history and rights across the globe.
Ansonia High School was one of 50 schools in the nation to win a $10,000 grant from the It Gets Better Project. The high school, which also received the grant last year, is one of just ten schools to receive the grant twice.
Grants from the project can be used for a variety of purposes. Last year, the high school used theirs to host schools across Connecticut for a Valley Pride conference. This year, they’re taking Valley Pride to New York – and they’re bringing other schools with them.
Students from Amity Regional, Emmett O’Brien, and New Haven Public Schools were invited to apply to join the trip alongside Ansonia’s delegation. In New York, they will receive a tour of the United Nations Headquarters, hear from speakers, and receive a briefing on the state of global LGBTQ rights.
Students involved in Ansonia High School’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) applied for the grant by putting together an informational video, said Libby Abraham, who serves as the extracurricular club’s advisor. She said it’s an opportunity for students to build LGBTQ community both inside and outside of the Valley.
Ansonia senior Maqila Mosley-Williams, who helped put together the grant application both last year and this year, said the United Nations trip presents new opportunities for students.
“When we first did the conference, it was just schools in the Valley, but now with the UN, we’re taking schools outside the Valley,” Mosley-Williams said. “We’re taking New Haven schools, Emmett – and those kids are from all over Connecticut. It really just allows LGBTQ kids to go out in the world and be like, ‘I’m not alone here. There’s so many other kids who are like me, going through the same thing.’”
Rasheed Martinez, another senior attending the trip, said he’s excited to hear from speakers that he wouldn’t otherwise get to hear from.
“Getting this grant, and now being able to go to the UN, is an opportunity for everyone, especially the other schools that are tagging along as well,” Martinez said.
Both Martinez and Mosley-Williams have older siblings that also attended Ansonia High School. They each said that a trip like this would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
Mosley-Williams said she could count the number of Gender and Sexuality Alliance members on one hand when she entered high school. Now, three years later, there’s about 50 members.
Martinez said that having the club has made it easier to connect with other students and build community. He credited Abraham with facilitating an accepting space.
“When we say [the community] is really open and warm, it’s mostly because of her,” Martinez said. “It’s not like you’re talking to an advisor, or another teacher, it’s kind of like you’re talking to a companion, someone you can be open to.”
Mosley-Williams added that Abraham is the reason that classrooms throughout the building have stickers proclaiming them as safe spaces for LGBTQ students. She said that Abraham handed out those stickers to every teacher a few years ago.
The Gender and Sexuality Alliance allows students to build community through extracurricular activities – such as making “rainbow pizza,” a favorite memory of Mosley-Williams’ – and build valuable skills through involving students in grant-writing and other activities.
Martinez said that, since helping to apply for the club’s first grant last year, he has gone on to help write grant applications for other extracurricular organizations, as well. He said that these are skills he’ll take with him next year, at the University of Connecticut.
Mosley-Williams said she plans to help organize a Gender and Sexuality Alliance at the University of Hartford when she starts attending in the fall.
Students attending the trip will ride to New York on a charter bus, and they’ll be treated to a catered lunch after the United Nations tour. At the end of the day, they’ll each take home swag bags to remember the trip by.
To learn more about the It Gets Better Project, visit their website at www.itgetsbetter.org. The state government website also has a portalfor LGBTQ resources in Connecticut, including community groups and healthcare providers.
