To whoever was feeling burnout yesterday, this event was meant for you. 

Yesterday, I attended the LGBTQIA+ Wellbeing Series: Healing Burnout event to help out with setting up the designated room and managing the sign-in table.

Alongside helping, I participated in the Healing Burnout event as I, too, was feeling burnt out. 

We had a trauma-informed holistic health practitioner named Tara Tonini, who hosted the event and taught us many techniques to use when feeling stressed. 

I learned how to identify my signs of burnout, how to manage stress, and how to reduce headaches and inflamed muscles. 

The workshop was very educational, and participants were able to share their specific stresses and receive pieces of advice from our practitioner, Tara.

Tara brought packets of dietary supplements called ‘Superieur,’ used to refresh and treat the human body. I got to try the lime-blueberry flavor, and I must say that it was really refreshing. Participants were able to take home these dietary supplement powders; I love free stuff!

This was a great opportunity for me and for others to have been able to participate. 

If you would like to learn more about Tara’s services, you can visit her website 

www.taratonini.com.

On May 7th, I attended the Supa Dupa Fly Event held at the Academic Complex Theater at City Tech. 

I was responsible for creating a Sign-In sheet and having attendees sign it, managing the Gender & Sexuality promotional table, and helping guide the attendees to the theater. 

 Attendees were amazed at the G&S table and wanted to take photos. I handed out free G&S tote bags for whoever wanted them, and they were a big hit! We also had a raffling system for whoever signed in, and two winners received a signed book from our guest speaker, Dr. Shante Paradigm Smalls.

During my free break period, I watched a few minutes of the show and listened to two beautiful poets recite their poetry. Since I’m a poet, I felt inspired and moved while listening to the poems.

The models walking down the alley to show off their designs was a surreal sight. Many beautiful pieces were shown on the runway. Not only were the models wearing the fashion major student’s designs, but there was also a showroom surrounded by students’ textile work. I could see the creativeness of every design shown while I walked through the showroom. 

I am grateful to have been involved in this event, and I can’t wait to attend more! 

Jaida Clouden 12/1/23

The City Tech’s Science Fiction Symposium was a very interesting experience to be a part of. While Emily Hockaday was speaking, her reviews about how pop culture’s thoughts about the representation of nonbinary people/characters in books/films aren’t specifically sought. She states that due to the lack of representation or disheartening views of non-binaries, many people view them as robots and not humans. 

In a conversation that occurred between Emily Hockaday and Marie Vibbert, they talk about the criticism being faced by humans being non-binary or gender fluid. They talk about the loss of depiction that comes with the custom. Marie states that there are a lot of depictions of robots to be nonbinary but not human beings. 

The highlight of this event was when Marie Vibbert talked about the cartoon television series Steven Universe. She explains how there are several characters in this comic adaptation that are non-binary characters in it. The reason why this stood out to me the most is because Steven Universe was one of my favorite shows while growing up. Every character is unique in its own way, and it differentiates from common characters used in TV shows. Steven Universe exemplifies Gender and Sexuality and is an ally. Overall, being a part of the City Tech’s Science Fiction Symposium was influential. 

Jaida Clouden 11/25/23

After attending this webinar, I learned the discriminative truth about Universities and the LGBTQ community. 

The guest speakers helped educate me about the lack of recognition for LGBTQ students and their climate of fear. 

A safe space and a welcoming community are needed on campuses. Without a safe space or recognition, LGBTQ students are inclined to face institutional traumas that affect the way they live and learn. 

Overall, the webinar made me feel empowered to want to help students.