Biracial Multiracial Lesbian Gay Bisexual Queer Student Leaders Making Meaning of Their Experiences

Five biracial multiracial lesbian gay bisexual queer student leaders shared stories about their undergraduate experiences at a prestigious southern university. Critical cultural and constructivist paradigm provided the framework for supporting this narrative inquiry. Through multiple interviews, participants shared stories of their background, educational journey, and the impact they hope to have in the future. Through those interviews, participants also shared stories of their journey to understanding their racial identity, sexual identity, leadership experiences, and experiences centered on the intersections of race, sexuality, and leadership. Stories explored participants’ sense of belonging, code switching, functioning in racial and sexual identity specific spaces, experiences of isolation and exclusion, and challenges faced. Additional factors explored considered family upbringing as an underlying factor for participants exploring spaces on campus that aligned with their identities, navigating how to name individual identities, reasons why some participants were not as public about their sexual identity as others, and authentic leadership. This study explored implications and recommendations for academic and student affairs administrators, for student programming, and student organizations. Future considerations for research and implications are also provided