Gender Affirmation and Academic Performance: Examining the Quality of Life in Gender Expansive Student Communities in Fort Collins

College of Liberal Arts

Ethnic Studies

Larimer 

County 

(Boulder, Denver)

Primary Topic:

Health and Well-Being

Other Topics:

Economic and Community Development, Health and Well-Being, Youth and Family Development

Lead Mentor:  

Nikoli Attai

Assistant Professor

Internship Overview:

This summer extension internship project will allow an intern to explore the the ways that students’ overall quality of life and their academic performance greatly improves with access to gender affirming medical support. The intern will work closely with Dr. Nikoli Attai and Dr. Caridad Souza, faculty in the Department of Ethnic Studies, and in collaboration with the Fort Collins Community Action Network (FCCAN) for Justice Peace and Environment for three months in the summer to conduct research on this topic. As part of this community engaged project, the intern will also help the FCCAN to develop a social justice action report on the needs of Queer, Trans Black, Indigenous and People of Color (QTBIPOC) in Fort Collins. This will allow them to work closely with this community network and other stakeholders outside of CSU in Fort Collins and surrounding communities.

Goals, Scope and Objectives:

This internship will achieve the following goals:
1.. Provide an opportunity for QTBIPOC students at CSU to conduct community-engaged social action research
2. Provide feminist and social justice mentorship to QTBIPOC students at CSU
2. Gain a better understanding of the needs and experiences of trans and gender expansive persons in Fort Collins and surrounding communities.

With which stakeholder group(s) will the intern work?

Fort Collins Community Action Network for Justice Peace and Environment; The Ethnic Studies CollabLab

What student learning outcomes do you anticipate and what are the opportunities for professional development?

1.. Learn to work collaboratively with community members from a feminist and social justice framework
2. Learn how to do community engaged qualitative research utilizing methods such as participant observation, discourse analysis, literature reviews, interviews,
etc.
2. Learn to write reports about and document the needs of of QTBIPOC people in Fort Collins and surrounding communities.
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