As a freshman, Anika Roche, a member of the UCLA women’s rowing team, set out to create a support space for fellow-LGBTQ student-athletes on campus. After coming out while in high school in Illinois, Roche was met with support from her local community and wanted to foster a similar environment among her fellow Bruins.
As Outsports reports, This idea led her to UCLA’s Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Development Ric Coy, who was immediately impressed, explaining, “I was convinced she was older because of how confident she was about how passionately she talked about it. It’s not common for a freshman to come in with such a mindset.”
The Bruin Pride Alliance was born.
The group started a conversation and is making an impact on campus, establishing pride games and events, building relationships with local LGBTQ youth organizations, and developing a training module for coaches and administrators on equity issues. As UCLA joins the Big Ten next year, Roche looks forward to learning from similar groups that are active at other member institutions.
Roche is working hard to ensure that Bruin Pride Alliance will continue to grow and thrive long after she’s graduated. “I want there to be such an open, flowing conversation about LGBTQ athletics that Bruin Pride Alliance serves as a jumping-off point. The end goal is that everyone is included and supported.”
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