14. Connor McAlister

Wrapping up our Season 3 finale, Katya Shemelyak, our amazing intern from Stony Brook University, discusses her favorite moments from the season with hosts Srihita and Zarya. We reflect on Season 3’s insightful conversations featuring incredible guests, including finding community through content and reconnecting with old classmates. All three of us answer the question you have been waiting for: “What would we tell our 12-year-old selves?” We like to think we had some pretty good answers but Drake said it best: “Sometimes you laugh, sometimes you cry but I guess you know now.” We’re happy to share that the Queer Diagnosis Scholarship Fund has raised $7,220 to date! Check us out at QueerDiagnosis.com. You can also find us @QueerDiagnosis on Instagram/Twitter.

Trailblazing activist Rayyan Monkey (she/they), based in Mumbai, discusses her coming out journey growing up in a conservative Muslim family. She details the highs and lows of confronting her transphobia and developing a supportive network of queer Muslims. Rayyan shares the rich history of the Hijra community and highlights the influence of queer representation in activism, media, and medicine in their life. Learn more about Rayyan at @rayyanmonkey on Instagram. Consider donating to the Queer Diagnosis Scholarship Fund and checking us out at QueerDiagnosis.com. You can find us @QueerDiagnosis on Instagram/Twitter.

Ivy Fan (she/they), founder and editor-in-chief of Juxtapose Magazine, advocates for spaces dedicated to exploring the intersection of Asian American and Pacific Islander and LGBTQ+ identity in a mediascape that often lacks diversity. Along with sharing their vision for the Magazine came to be, Ivy reflects on navigating her adolescent and young-adult years as a queer Asian first-generation immigrant. Co-host Zarya and Ivy discuss how their high school years informed their respective cultural identities. They discuss representation from the songwriter Rina Sawayama to Bowen Yang on SNL.  Be sure to check out Juxtapose Magazine at juxtaposemag.com. Consider making a donation to the Queer Diagnosis Scholarship Fund and checking us out at QueerDiagnosis.com. You can find us @QueerDiagnosis on Instagram/Twitter.

In this special interview, Erika Duncan - the founder of herstorywriters - shares her rich lived experiences from hosting salons for the preeminent feminist thinkers of our time to discovering herself and her perfect lover. Erika reminds us of the importance of storytelling and discusses how a partnership between QD and HerStory can help growing writers tell their stories through a free writing workshop. You can learn more at herstorywriters.org. Consider making a donation to the Queer Diagnosis Scholarship Fund and checking us out at QueerDiagnosis.com. You can find us @QueerDiagnosis on Instagram/Twitter.

In our first episode of Season 3, Connor McAlister (he/they) contemplates the impact of emerging technologies, including CRISPR, on disabled communities. We learn about the eugenicist implications of conservatorships highlighted by the Free Britney movement. Connor McAlister is a graduate student studying Bioethics at Stony Brook University. You can follow them @definitelynotbroccoli on Instagram! Consider making a donation to the Queer Diagnosis Scholarship Fund and checking us out at QueerDiagnosis.com. You can find us @QueerDiagnosis on Instagram/Twitter.

In our second season finale, Dr. Rick Gatteau leads by example with his commitment to embracing diversity and inclusivity as the Vice President of Student Affairs at Stony Brook University. Inspired by his female role models, Dr. Gatteau began his journey in higher education with a dissertation on female presidential leadership. He has since made it a priority to be open about his identity to create a safe space for students to be themselves. Also entering higher education, QD producer Jameson contemplates the generational differences when it comes to being out in academia in our last reflection of the season. A special thank you to our first-ever cohort of interns! You can support our future projects by donating to Patreon.com/QueerDiagnosis and checking us out at QueerDiagnosis.com and @QueerDiagnosis on Twitter/Instagram.

Adrian Shanker leads the conversation in LGBTQ+ healthcare equity and accessibility as the founder of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center. Raised by two moms, Adrian understood at a young age that policy often fails to accommodate families that do not fit the hetero-normative mold. After studying LGBT Policy and Healthcare at George Washington University, Adrian found an absence of published literature centered on LGBTQ+ healthcare consumer experiences. His critically-acclaimed anthology Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health serves as a tool to retrain the healthcare system. Adrian Shanker is a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS for the Biden-Harris Administration. You can support our future projects by donating to Patreon.com/QueerDiagnosis and checking us out at QueerDiagnosis.com and @QueerDiagnosis on Twitter/Instagram!

Amanda Hart, a recipient of the Best Lineman Award, overcame gender stereotypes as a former football player. Raised in California and Texas, Amanda now advocates for locally-led initiatives in New York as the founder of the Global Women's Empowerment Movement. Her mission is to advance women’s empowerment through global friendship while forming organic relationships along the way. Amanda is currently looking for submissions from LGBTQ+-identifying individuals and organizations to feature in future editions of the GWEM magazine. Learn more about GWEM at gwemag.com, @GWEMMagazine on Twitter, and @GWEMMagz on Instagram.

MS4 Samantha Wilder cultivates inclusive change as the founder of LGBTQ+ in Medicine and as an admissions committee member. A champion of advocacy, she addresses the imposter syndrome that paralleled her motivation in creating a safe space for current and incoming LGBTQ+ students. It’s safe to say Samantha has established the groundwork for future initiatives to flourish. Looking forward to residency, Samantha invites us into her thought process when sharing her identity with urology programs. Samantha Wilder is currently an MS4 at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine. You can support our future projects by donating to Patreon.com/QueerDiagnosis and checking us out at QueerDiagnosis.com and @QueerDiagnosis on Twitter/Instagram!

Dr. John Pang changed his life overnight by deciding to pursue medical school instead of veterinary school. He now combines his passion for art and practices gender-affirming care as a plastic surgeon. Dr. Pang works with his patients to ensure they experience an improvement in their quality of life with the knowledge of the intricacies wrapped in the gendering of facial features and body contouring. Though mainstream biases and archaic insurance systems have stunted research in transgender medicine and care, Dr. Pang pushes back against such attitudes and embraces a sense of community and belonging in his work with medical students and more. Dr. John Pang is a plastic surgeon and the Research Group Lead for the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. You can support our future projects by donating to Patreon.com/QueerDiagnosis and checking us out at QueerDiagnosis.com and @QueerDiagnosis on Twitter/Instagram!