Honoring the Pride Community
Cowley is inclusive. Pride Month commemorates and celebrates activism in the fight for equal rights for members of the LGBTQ+ community. The Pride movement began with the Stonewall protests of 1969, with June officially being designated as Pride Month by President, Bill Clinton in 1999. Currently, Pride is celebrated throughout the world and provides opportunity for members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies to continue to take pride in and bring attention to ongoing action toward equality. Below you will hear from members of our Alumni-Pride community as well as spotlights of some more globally-recognized.
Pride month is about love and acceptance. We stand together as a community to continue
the fight for equality. In my mind, pride absolutely is LOVE FOR ALL!
Brandon Burke
Class of 2006
- Degrees Obtained: Liberal Arts, Education with a concentration in Child Development
- Other Universities/Colleges Attended: Northwestern Oklahoma State University
- Current Role/Profession: Admissions Representative/Co-Ed Cheer Coach at Cowley College
- Where are you now? Brandon Burke is an experienced Admissions Representative. Driven by providing Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Diversity, and Excellence he takes pride in providing the best satisfaction possible. As an Admissions Representative/Coach his goals are stronger leadership presence, more confidence, self-awareness, self-management, empathy and relationship building. His passion for Cowley goes clear back to when he earned his degree. He entered the education world to explore his passion. He lives in Ark City with his partner Andy and son Eyzic.
- Share a special memory during your time at Cowley College: From basketball games to trips with friends, Cowley provided memories for a lifetime. Mid-Night Madness, Cowley has so much pride.
Embrace your uniqueness, as it is what makes you, you. Remember your journey is valid
and your voice matters.
Arianna Raga
Class of 2013
- Degrees obtained: Associate of Arts
- Other universities/colleges attended: Newman University
- Current Role/Profession: Men and Women's Assistant Tennis Coach at Cowley College
- Share a special memory during your time at Cowley College: Cowley felt like home since the moment I arrived. There isn’t one special moment because I had so many. Every employee at Cowley made me feel like I was around family. Julie Kratt, Amy McWirth, and Lindsay Allen are people who always motivated me to do my best and enjoy the process. The passion and commitment they put into their classes and teaching is something inspiring.
- Share with students and the community your inspiring message around Pride Month and what celebrating this community means to you: Embrace your uniqueness, as it is what makes you, you. Remember your journey is valid and your voice matters. Celebrating the LGBT community means recognizing the power of love in all its forms. To me, it means standing tall, united in the face of adversity, and helping to create a world where everyone can love and be loved without fear or judgment.
Pride to me is about equal access. As an LGBTQ+ ally, I understand Pride as the affirmation
of the right to live life authentically.
Amy McWhirt
Started Working at Cowley in 2003
- Degrees obtained: BA (History/Spanish Southwestern College), M Ed (Southwestern College), MA (Emporia State University (ESOL: English for Speakers of Other Languages)
- Current Role/Profession: Instructor in Spanish, English for Speakers of Other Languages, Composition I, Academic Advisor, Humanities and Communications Department Chair, DEIB Steering Committee Chair
- Share a special memory during your time at Cowley College: My best memories at Cowley have involved working with students from diverse backgrounds both from the U.S. and all over the world. I love when they teach me to understand experiences from a new or unexpected point of view. I grow as an academic and a person every semester that I teach.
- Share with students and the community your inspiring message around Pride Month and what celebrating this community means to you: Pride to me is about equal access. As an LGBTQ+ ally, I understand Pride as the affirmation of the right to live life authentically. Unfortunately, I have seen how discrimination directly affects people I love, respect, and admire who are members of the LGBTQ+ community, making everything about simply living life more challenging and sometimes more dangerous. This is inherently unjust. I believe all people deserve equal access and equal opportunity to grow into who they are meant to be personally, professionally, as human beings in this world. I also believe we should be able to do this through all aspects of our identities, without discrimination and fear because these identities are part of our unique contribution to the human experience. We all have the human right to exist.
Pride is very important to me because it reminds us how resilient our community is
even in the face of constant adversity.
Trevor Reichle
Class of 2014
- Degrees obtained: Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Wichita State University.
- Current Role/Profession: I’m a Regional News Producer for Gray Television.
- Where are you now? I am now living in Kansas City, Missouri and working for Gray Television, which owns local television news stations across the U.S.! I work in several different states producing newscasts for both large and small markets. Beyond that, I am spending my time with loved ones and traveling as much as possible!
- Share a special memory during your time at Cowley College: I have such great memories from my time working for the Cowley Press. I made so many great friends there and had the best times - from long production nights (pizza included) to hanging out together all over town.
- Share with students and the community your inspiring message around Pride Month and what celebrating this community means to you: Pride is very important to me because it reminds us how resilient our community is even in the face of constant adversity. Each year it reminds us that we’re stronger together and that no matter what, LGBTQ people have to stand up for each other and have each others’ backs, especially when times are tough.
- Anything else you would like to share? No matter how difficult things may seem, know that there are people who love and accept you. Finding your tribe is crucial. I’d be nowhere without my LGBTQ family who make me laugh and to talk about our shared experiences with. Life is short - don’t let anyone take your pride from you.
I am going to do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that is accepting,
that is compassionate.
Carl Nassib
The first and only active NFL player to have come out as gay.
I know especially in Yup’ik culture, people were Two-Spirited, and typically they
would be healers because they could see into both worlds, the masculine and feminine,
and can almost hold hands with both.
Drew Michael
Traditional Yup’ik mask maker and identifies as Two Spirit.
When diverse people cannot reach their full potential, it is a big loss for our society,
so I thought that it would be a win-win for both LGBTQ people and for society if I
could be a bridge between them.
Kenton Hoshi
Founder of JobRainbow, Japan’s first employment search platform catered to LGBTQ individuals.
It wasn’t until after I recognized a lot of the harm that medicine, specifically in
the field of psychiatry, has perpetuated towards marginalized people...that I recognized
that there’s this large space for advocacy.
Mikiko Thelwell
Medical student combating health care disparities studying psychiatry and a Point
Foundation scholar.
Johnson became an active member of many of the groups, such as the Gay Liberation
Front, that fought for the protection and sexual liberation of all people.
Marsha P. Johnson
Self-identified drag queen and liberation activist.