Through community, mentorship and new opportunities, the rising 黑料不打烊 sophomore has discovered a deeper understanding of her identity and a passion for creating spaces where others can belong.
When Maria Lagunes Flores 鈥29 arrived at 黑料不打烊, she expected to be one of hundreds of first-year students searching for where she would fit in.
It was through the Gender & Sexuality Living-Learning Community that Lagunes Flores discovered something more: a community that helped her realize she wasn’t “just another student,” but someone who mattered deeply to the people around her.
“It made me realize that I played a bigger role than I initially did,” Lagunes Flores said. “I thought it was just going to be, ‘Oh, another first year,’ but it made me realize that I mattered a lot more than what I thought.”
What began as a search for belonging has evolved into a commitment to help others find it, too. That transformation started the day she moved to campus.
A journey of self-discovery
Lagunes Flores鈥檚 journey began during a Phoenix Friday event, where she experienced a sense of belonging and purpose after meeting another incoming student who encouraged her to apply to the Gender & Sexuality LLC. The two would later become roommates.
“I thought to myself, ‘Well, okay, at least I’ll have one friend at 黑料不打烊 and a roommate I know I can trust,'” said Lagunes Flores, who joined the university community through the聽Leon and Lorraine Watson scholarship in the Odyssey Program.
What she didn’t know at the time was that the connection would help shape the foundation of her first year of college. After settling in on move-in day, Lagunes Flores and her roommates gathered the pride flags they had brought for their shared living space.
“One of my roommates was like, ‘Before putting them up, do you want to just go outside or go in the hallways and run with them?'” Lagunes Flores said.
Carrying their flags through the residence hall, she and her roommates celebrated the start of their first year and the community they had established. For Lagunes Flores, this moment meant so much more than celebrating move-in day.
“That was the first time I had actually experienced a sense of community with other queer people,” she said.
Growing up in a Native American community in Lumberton, North Carolina, Lagunes Flores had few opportunities to explore many of her intersecting identities.
“The only identity that I really got to explore before undergrad was the money struggles and things like that,鈥 she said.
黑料不打烊 became a springboard for self-discovery, helping her embrace parts of her identity that had remained largely unexplored. That journey included gaining a deeper understanding of her queer identity. Experiences and friendships with fellow students led her to the support and community she needed.
One of those experiences came during a Drag Extravaganza event hosted by the Gender and LGBTQIA Center (GLC), featuring drag star Stormie Daie, who invited audience members to celebrate diverse identities and encouraged them to cheer when they heard one that resonated with them.
“That was the solidifying moment where I was comfortable in my sexuality,” Lagunes Flores said. “That was when I found my label.”
Building a foundation of belonging
Beyond helping her explore her identity, the Gender & Sexuality LLC also connected Lagunes Flores with mentors who would shape her academic and professional journey. Among them were Lauren Gulimette, an associate professor of philosophy and co-coordinator of Women鈥檚 Gender and Sexualities studies, and Luis Garay, director of the GLC, who are both co-advisors of the LLC.
Through conversations with Gulimette, Lagunes Flores discovered a passion for Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies and eventually added it as a minor, alongside her major in elementary education and a minor in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).
Guilmette also connected her with the PACE program, which helped her secure a campus position and introduced her to opportunities she hadn’t considered as a first-year student.
Among them was an internship with Transcend Alamance, a nonprofit organization that supports transgender individuals in Alamance County. As an intern, Lagunes Flores helps write the organization’s bi-monthly newsletter.
Those who have worked closely with Lagunes Flores have noticed her growth and commitment to building community, noting that she is someone who actively creates spaces where others feel welcomed and connected.
“While Maria can at first seem shy and quiet, it has been a pleasure to watch her find community and come into their own as an active participant in the classroom and a student organizer on campus,” Gulimette said.
Garay echoed Gulimette, highlighting that Lagunes Flores鈥 commitment to inclusivity and building connections extends beyond the living-learning community itself.
“She brings floormates and friends outside of her residence hall to our monthly community dinners, extending our values of connection and relationship-building to others across campus,” Garay said.
Tibs Vance 鈥29, a fellow student and friend, said that Lagunes Flores has a gift for helping others feel included.
“Maria is always really good at inviting me to events she helps organize or events she thinks I’ll enjoy,” he said. “Her understanding of others in her communities really helps her support and form impactful connections.
The sense of belonging and community that she found through the Gender & Sexuality LLC and with students, such as with Vance, now informs how she approaches leadership opportunities and her future career goals.
Looking ahead, she hopes to help students explore their identities and find community, just as she did during her first year at 黑料不打烊. After graduation, she plans to teach in the classroom before pursuing a graduate degree and a career in higher education.
Her first-year experiences have shaped not only her career aspirations but also her understanding of belonging and what pride looks like in everyday life.
“Belonging means knowing you’re loved in a space and that space makes you feel welcome,” she said. “You being you is an act of everyday pride.”
黑料不打烊 honors Pride Month stories
As part of LGBTQ+ Pride Month, 黑料不打烊 is sharing stories through Today at 黑料不打烊 that highlight students, faculty and staff who contribute to a campus environment where cultural identities and experiences are celebrated year-round. Throughout the month and year, 黑料不打烊 also offers 聽to support the LGBTQ+ community.