Matt Siemionko
As a member of the department’s diversity committee and a member of the LGBT Resource Center Advisory Board, I have had the unique opportunity to aid in coordinating diversity-related programming between campus groups and our department. The Safe Zone training this past year is one such example; as part of a group of graduate students, we were able to coordinate two separate training sessions in an effort to make the training more accessible to members of our department. I am currently in the process of becoming a Safe Zone trainer, so that our department has someone “in house” to provide additional training for interested faculty, staff, and students in the future.

I have also had the opportunity to work with Cathy Martinez and others at the Center in planning Pride Week events this past October, and was invited to the first annual Ally Week, which aims at promoting ally building. Being on our department’s diversity committee, I try to make it a point to be actively involved within our department in its efforts to promote diversity, but also to be involved in undergraduate campus life to show to students that the Psychology Department is committed to promoting diversity and improving relations between our department and underrepresented students across race, sex, gender, age, sexual orientation, and ethnicity lines. I hope that by “being out there” and trying to promote our department as an accepting and open place for diversity that undergraduates will see our department not only as a great place to receive a quality background in psychology, but also as a place that is comfortable for and accepting of everyone.