In college, I found the freedom to be my true self; now, as I prepare to step into the working world, I must decide how much of that freedom I can keep.
Zach Koung
Alumni Co-Chair, It Gets Better
“Where do you want to live after graduation?”
“What do you want to do?”
“What companies are you applying to?”
Hearing these questions around campus often elicits an anxious and daunting feeling. As students, we must face the harsh reality that college is coming to an end and that we must start answering some very big-kid questions. However, for many queer students like myself, it’s different.
In high school, I was cautious about who knew about my LGBTQ+ identity. The pandemic made it even harder to navigate community. Finding a supportive community like It Gets Better made it easier.
It Gets Better started as a social media campaign in 2010 and has grown into a global nonprofit that reaches millions of young people each year with inspiring storytelling and educational resources, reminding youth to never forget that it gets better. In 2020, I, along with three others, helped start the Youth Voices initiative, a program offering a platform for young LGBTQ+ individuals to share their stories and advocate for their communities. This program became a vital outlet where I could be myself, even if only inside a two-inch box on my fellow peers’ Zoom screens.
Finding freedom
Leaving home and going to university is where I really found the ability to be me. In college, many have the opportunity to reinvent themselves and try out different looks, albeit just a hairstyle or fashion. For me, it was that I finally didn’t have to hide who I was any longer. I was able to be “out” as LGBTQ+ to everyone.
I juggled many different responsibilities over the last three years at Penn, but the involvements that were most meaningful were those where the people in it became another family for me. Throughout my summers, I applied to internships that I knew would be inherently supportive of LGBTQ+ people, including organizations like the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). I wasn’t sure if people like me could succeed in the business world.
I later joined a club that made a greater impact on me than any class: Wharton Alliance, an organization supporting LGBTQ+ students interested in going into business. The mentors I made in this group helped me work on my resume, apply to jobs, and more, but the most valuable part was seeing my mentors do the corporate internship and jobs, excel at them, and hear them talk about the joy and support they had within their companies LGBTQ+ affinity networks. Through the Wharton Alliance, Out4Undergraduate (a professional network for LGBTQ+ students), and online resources like HRC’s Corporate Equality Score, I identified which companies would allow me to maintain the liberating freedom of being fully out and proud.
Looking to the future
As I prepare to step into post-college life, I, like many other queer students whose first safe refuge was college, must make additional considerations on top of the already daunting adult questions. Does that company actively support LGBTQ+ employees? Is there an LGBTQ+ network that forges connections and development opportunities? Does the company have inclusive healthcare policies and resources? Does the state seek to criminalize LGBTQ+ people, or is it culturally accepting? Does that state support LGBTQ+ families or seek to break them apart?
My future depends on finding answers to these questions. With the current political climate, the list of questions queer people must ask themselves will only grow. As I transition from university, move through my career, and consider life milestones like starting a family, these questions will adapt. Each new job, city, or opportunity will be a test of how much freedom I’m willing to fight for.
