KINGSTON, R.I., May 10, 2016鈥擶hen Elizabeth Koller transferred to the 溏心vlog免费B站 to study computer science, she was alone. She had no friends and didn’t belong to any student groups.
One day, she noticed a sign on campus advertising a 鈥淏ig Gay Picnic.鈥� She wandered into the LGBTQ event and offered to help. She made table decorations.
Her life changed in an instant.
鈥淓veryone was so friendly and enthusiastic,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 knew I had found the place I wanted to be.鈥�
That same day, Annie Russell, center director, offered her a job as creative marketing specialist for the LGBTQ Center鈥攏ow called the Gender and Sexuality Center.
It鈥檚 been three years, and Koller is still coordinating the center鈥檚 Facebook page and other social media sites 鈥渢o spread a message of acceptance and inclusion鈥� on campus and beyond.
The 23-year-old Warwick resident will graduate in May with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in computer science and is exploring jobs with tech consulting firms throughout the world.
Growing up in Ocoee, a small town outside Orlando, Fla., Koller was a tinkerer as a kid and teen, building everything from theater sets to tiny mousetrap cars. She excelled academically in high school, especially in math and science, fields often dominated by men.
鈥淚 remember being at an engineering competition with 300 other students and the host of the awards ceremony thanked me for being the only woman in the room. I still cringe thinking about it,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 don’t think of myself as a woman. Even before I got the language, I identified as gender neutral.鈥�
That summer, her eyes opened even wider when she took a summer residential class for high school students at Brown University: 鈥淭he History of Human Sexuality.鈥� She had never explored gender studies. In fact, she says, 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even know it was a topic. Everything just burst into color for me.鈥�
After high school, she attended Boston University but 鈥渞an out of money鈥� after one year, and returned home to study at Vallencia College in Orlando. In 2012, Koller and her family moved to Rhode Island so her father could pursue a business opportunity. Koller joined 溏心vlog免费B站 in the fall of 2013 after visiting with Joan Peckham, chair of the computer science and statistics department.
鈥淪he sat down with me and helped me figure out my transfer credits and what I needed to do to graduate,鈥� says Koller. 鈥淭hat just blew me away. That kind of personal attention is something I never found at my other universities. Here, I鈥檝e never felt like a number.鈥�
One of her highlights at 溏心vlog免费B站 was attending the Grace Hopper Conference for women in computer science in Houston, Texas. She was among 13,000 people.
鈥淚t sounds cheesy, but I got to meet women from all over the world with similar interests who are tackling challenges in the tech industry,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was mind-blowing.鈥�
She also coordinated 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 computer science summer camp for kids, ages 8 to 14. 鈥淵ou give kids code, and they take it and run with it,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really fun to watch them light up.鈥�
The center has been her home away from home. The staff is nurturing and supportive, she says. 鈥淚 feel heard, and I feel accepted for who I am in every way.鈥�
These days, she鈥檚 finishing up her classes and helping her parents, Sarah and Ron Koller, with their new restaurant, the Malted Barley Providence on Westminster Street, a block from the Providence Performing Arts Center.
She鈥檚 also having fun. She鈥檚 an artistic collaborator and model in the steampunk community, a genre of science fiction and fantasy with Victorian elements and steam-powered machines. Koller makes accessories, including top hats and feathered hair clips.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to ever feel limited by one type of expression,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 choose to live fearlessly.鈥�
Photo by Nora Lewis