Iowa State Alum Trinity Dearborn will be speaking on independence for the Ames Pridefest Storytelling Project. 

“I am a queer and trans person of color and I also advocate for my mental health issues as well—primarily to normalize discussing mental health,” Dearborn said. “For me, independence is about living your most authentic life and growing into who you want to be as a person. Independence is not about being alone.”

Dearborn was also the president of the Pride Alliance and president of the Asexual Aromantic Alliance at Iowa State, and wants “to be the queer cousin who sporadically gives hit or miss advice,” according to the Facebook event. 

The Ames Pridefest 2020 Storytelling Project is presented in partnership with the Ames Public Library and is sponsored by The Project of Primary Health Care, with one-on-one storytelling support from the ISU Writing & Media Center.

At 6 p.m. on the fourth Saturday of every month, stories can be presented through language, music or visual art and will be based around a theme. The goal of this project is to “amplify the voices of our diverse community,” according to the Ames Pride website.

The next storytelling event will take place Aug. 29 and is focused on new beginnings.  

Stories that will take priority include:

• Stories that speak to queer and transgender storytellers of color, LGBTQIA+ storytellers with a disability and all underrepresented groups within the LGBTQIA+ community.

• Stories that incorporate or connect to current issues

• Stories that come from local community members or those who have demonstrated a connection to Ames Pride and Ames Pridefest.

To apply for the event, visit the Ames Pride website under 2020 storytelling project. Applications must be received by the first of the month you would be featured in. The storytelling event can be viewed on the Ames Pride YouTube channel as well as a slideshow of the first three years of Pridefest.