Goodbye to the LGBTQA Community of Northern Arizona
Chris Travis Duarte
Dearest NAU Community and the Broader Communities of Northern Arizona,
I am writing you this message with a warm heart and humbled spirit as I say goodbye. Today is my official last day as the Program Coordinator of LGBTQA Resources and Support at Northern Arizona University. I feel honored to have held the position for two years as the LGBTQA Resources and Support function became established in the LEADS Center at NAU. In the two years that I served in this role, I collected every bit of input from every aspect of the community. There were many ideas and opinions regarding what would serve the LGBTQA students at NAU. Sometimes there were differences of opinion and I have seen a fair share of broken ties. Overall, I look back at the list of ideas presented to me almost two years ago, and together WE have accomplished the goals that we set out to achieve.
We shared so many firsts together and over two years’ time, there were more than 150 events held that hosted more than 5000 attendees. We did it! With the help of every single person receiving this email, YOU made this happen! Never again will an LGBTQA student not have a place to call home. There are more than 5000 files in the Resources and Support files that contain any form of support that any LGBTQA student could ever seek. Contained in those folders is the past ten years of resources and support on campus and in the community that I collected as I sought support. I saved every contact and every program I ever attended. I saved the stories, I heard your requests, even if I never responded; I heard you. I could never repay those people who supported me in my endeavors and I could never say “thank you” enough for trusting me with such a challenging task. So to say thank you, I maintained all of that information and yesterday I transferred every single file, brochure, contact, and record which is completely electronic (even the color brochures from community partners). It took two years to create it and my hope is that these resources can be accessed by anyone seeking support for any reason….not just members of the LGBTQA community. From suicide prevention to empowering events, sexual assault prevention resources to family support related services, and from event programs for student leaders to transgender support in almost every aspect and need, including a safe bathroom map for NAU. Anything someone could ever need, there is a resource in there that are all searchable by keyword. Yes, that’s right; every bit of history, every data collection file, every memory and even job hunting resources. (The attached photo is a pic of the Table of Contents for the Electronic Filing System). Now when you email the Program Coordinator for something, you should receive an answer within a few hours to a day instead of months (I am sorry).
This is my token of gratitude. My belief is and always has been that if we disregard our history we are doomed to repeat it. So I saved everything and I am giving it back to you. Help support one another, support our allies and support the community organizations that support us when nobody is there to say thank you. I say thank you now to all of you that made this happen and will continue to make it blossom after I have departed. Know that I am always an available resource and this LGBTQA community will always hold a piece of my heart.
If you ever want to contact me via email to ask a question about anything or just to say hi, I can be reached at linkin...@hotmail.com
To those I still owe some emails to …I have not forgotten you J
Thank you again and best wishes, the best of luck and all of my support to the next Program Coordinator of LGBTQA Resources and Support. May the force be with you because you are going to need it J
Sincerely,
Chris Duarte
Ginter, Mary
Dr. Mary Beth Ginter
Academic Dean - BCLSSFSS
Business, Computers, World Languages, Social & Behavioral Sciences, Fitness & Sports Sciences
PCC West
(520) 206-6996
________________________________________
From: LGBTQA...@googlegroups.com [LGBTQA...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Chris Travis Duarte [Chris....@nau.edu]
Sent: Friday, June 14, 2013 3:34 PM
To: LGBTQA...@LISTS.NAU.EDU
Subject: Goodbye to the LGBTQA Community of Northern Arizona
To those I still owe some emails to …I have not forgotten you ☺
Thank you again and best wishes, the best of luck and all of my support to the next Program Coordinator of LGBTQA Resources and Support. May the force be with you because you are going to need it ☺
Sincerely,
Chris Duarte
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Fugett, Charlotte
Sent: Friday, June 14, 2013 3:34 PM
To: LGBTQA...@LISTS.NAU.EDU
Subject: Goodbye to the LGBTQA Community of Northern Arizona
Arianne Lynne Burford
Thank you so much for all the work you have done--what a great foundation of resources from the ground up! I wish you good things in your future and I look forward to finding out what you do next. Keep in touch in FB! In my 191 online class this summer we were talking about transgender issues, and a student posted this amazing story about how this guy named Chris came and talked to her class 2 years ago and how it changed her life, views, and opened her up. This is not one isolated example, but one I wanted to share because it has a ripple effect. She then was educated her discussion group and asking them questions and pushing them as an ally.
In gratitude,
Arianne
Arianne Burford, Ph.D.
Faculty Lecturer
Northern Arizona University
Women's and Gender Studies
Social and Behavior Sciences West 228
________________________________________
From: LGBTQA...@googlegroups.com [LGBTQA...@googlegroups.com] on behalf of Chris Travis Duarte [Chris....@nau.edu]
To: LGBTQA...@LISTS.NAU.EDU
Subject: Goodbye to the LGBTQA Community of Northern Arizona
To those I still owe some emails to …I have not forgotten you ☺
Thank you again and best wishes, the best of luck and all of my support to the next Program Coordinator of LGBTQA Resources and Support. May the force be with you because you are going to need it ☺