Drew

I am from Lafayette, Indiana and grew up going to a small private Catholic school my entire life until I graduated as president of our class. High school days were some of my favorite times and I was fortunate to have a supportive family and great friends who accepted me when I came out as gay my senior year of high school. My "coming out" story is very uneventful and really doesn’t resonate as a huge moment in my life. My friends "already knew" about my sexuality through assumption and I never really denied it. However, my parents were the first to know about my sexuality. I will never forget that day I came home from work and my parents were sitting on the couch. After I walked in my dad said that they had something they wanted to ask me. It was as blunt as that. "Drew, are you gay?" I was fortunate enough to have a loving family who doubled as my best friends that I didn't fear to say "yes" that day.

Currently, I am studying at Purdue University with a major in Interior Design with a minor in Communications and Dance Performance. I am currently a part of the American Society of Interior Designers at Purdue, Purdue's Contemporary Dance Company and Purdue's X-works for student-run dance production. I was also part of Purdue's Musical Organization in University Choir. The most inclusive and safe space I have ever been is the dance studio of Yue-Kong Pao Hall at Purdue. The dance division professors and other dance company members have become some of my best friends. They all support me and my relationship without judging me because of my sexuality. I have never felt like I've had to pretend to be someone that I'm not.

I was honored to receive a grant from Purdue's Liberal Arts department and traveled to Athens, Greece to perform at the World Congress of Dance Research. The dance community has been without a doubt one of my biggest supports in life.

I have experienced nothing but love and support during my time in Indiana. I guess you can say I have been lucky to have such accepting family and friends but it even could go much further than that. When I arrived at Purdue University I was reached out to by the priest of the Catholic Church on campus who wanted me to know that I was always welcomed there and hoped to see me and my boyfriend on Sunday. I definitely think times are changing in Indiana and what was once a very conservative state is being washed away by accepting and open-minded individuals in cities like West Lafayette. I fear what the future may hold for me personally but more into my adult years when I am ready to start a family and the affordability of adoption or surrogacy in Indiana. I have always dreamed of moving out of Indiana one day but I know that Indiana will always be my "home."