I’m Lorraine Wong, an MIT senior in Women’s & Gender Studies and Brain & Cognitive Sciences. On campus, I’m involved with a few mental health organizations including Active Minds @ MIT and the MindHandHeart Initiative. I care about a lot of topics related to shaping a more equitable and supportive society, so I also do work in the reproductive justice, mentorship for underrepresented and under-resourced youth, mental health hotline, and LGBTQ legal issues spaces. The WGS thesis I’m currently working on is about the changing language used in regards to nonbinary gender identities. 

Two years ago I took a class at the Harvard Kennedy School for Government called Philanthropy & Public Problem-Solving, in which groups researched local Greater Boston Area non-profits in their topic area in order to make donations to support the change we believed in and wished to see. While it didn’t fit exactly with our topic area of combating poverty, True Colors: Out Youth Theater has stuck with me over the years. Using the power of theater and art, True Colors’ program components encourage confidence, story-telling, leadership, and provide a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQ youth to be themselves and share their stories. Here are two articles about True Colors being awarded the 2016 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award by First Lady Michelle Obama this past November.