I am up in the cold north… In northeast Connecticut on the University of Connecticut Storrs campus for the True Colors conference. The TC conference is a small intimate conference of about 3000 people.
It is most likely the largest LGBT conference in the world. It started off in life as a social work grad project and twenty two years later it morphed into the conference of today. It was originally called “The Children from the Shadows” conference and was on the University of Hartford’s campus but it out grew that campus, then it was on the Central Connecticut State University’s campus, but it outgrew that campus and now is on the UConn campus.
I have been going to the conference ever since it was at UofH and the weather has been anywhere from sunny in the seventies to like today in the low thirties and snowing.
It is like the Who’s Who of the Connecticut LGBT community, many of the lesbians, gays, and trans that I know from around the state I know from the conference. There is one gay man I meet every year at the conference, I first meet him at a “Trans 101” workshop probably thirteen years. We talked after the workshop over lunch, he never meet anyone trans before and he was curious and went the workshop. And every year I bump into him at least once at the conference.
This year once again I am having lunch with a former classmate from the School of Social Work; she is now a school social worker and runs the GSA. She’s straight and has I think two kids now and we usually get caught up on the gossip about what we did over the year and the kids ask any questions they have about trans issues.
I am doing another workshop this year on trans history, in the past I have done workshop on “Policies
for Transgender Students.” I give workshops at the conference for two reasons, the first is that I like doing it and the second is that I get in for free.
Hopefully, Stana will not be sick and we can go out to dinner together on the way home. It is kind of like a tradition we usually stop at Rein’s Deli on the way home and I have a pastrami Ruben on rye with a half sour pickle.
Update 3/21/15 9:00 AM
My workshop on Trans History went very well, I had 24 attendees, and all the evaluations were 5s and some 4s. But the ride home was a nightmare, traffic on I-84 was going 35 - 40 mph because of the snow. I only went to one workshop and I stayed up in the Rainbow Center talking to a friends.
I had lunch with a friend and former UConn School of Social Work classmate and her GSA.
Stana didn't make it to the conference, she was sick and I know how much she was looking forward to the conference. So on the way home I stopped and bought some cornbeef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, French dressing, and rye bread for my Ruben.
It is most likely the largest LGBT conference in the world. It started off in life as a social work grad project and twenty two years later it morphed into the conference of today. It was originally called “The Children from the Shadows” conference and was on the University of Hartford’s campus but it out grew that campus, then it was on the Central Connecticut State University’s campus, but it outgrew that campus and now is on the UConn campus.
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| True Colors Conference at UofH 2002 |
It is like the Who’s Who of the Connecticut LGBT community, many of the lesbians, gays, and trans that I know from around the state I know from the conference. There is one gay man I meet every year at the conference, I first meet him at a “Trans 101” workshop probably thirteen years. We talked after the workshop over lunch, he never meet anyone trans before and he was curious and went the workshop. And every year I bump into him at least once at the conference.
 |
| Workshop on Trans History |
I am doing another workshop this year on trans history, in the past I have done workshop on “Policies
for Transgender Students.” I give workshops at the conference for two reasons, the first is that I like doing it and the second is that I get in for free.
Hopefully, Stana will not be sick and we can go out to dinner together on the way home. It is kind of like a tradition we usually stop at Rein’s Deli on the way home and I have a pastrami Ruben on rye with a half sour pickle.
Update 3/21/15 9:00 AM
My workshop on Trans History went very well, I had 24 attendees, and all the evaluations were 5s and some 4s. But the ride home was a nightmare, traffic on I-84 was going 35 - 40 mph because of the snow. I only went to one workshop and I stayed up in the Rainbow Center talking to a friends.
I had lunch with a friend and former UConn School of Social Work classmate and her GSA.
Stana didn't make it to the conference, she was sick and I know how much she was looking forward to the conference. So on the way home I stopped and bought some cornbeef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, French dressing, and rye bread for my Ruben.
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