Content warning: Galvin’s story concerns bullying, gender and sexual orientation-based discrimination and racial discrimination. If you or someone you love are looking for support, contact Student Counseling Services at 515-294-5056.
Galvin Smith is a sophomore studying graphic design. In this installment of “Humans of Iowa State,” Smith dives into what life was like living in a small town in Texas as a transgender, nonbinary person.
“I think one of the most important parts of me, just because we are [at] ISU and pretty much everyone here is from Iowa… I’m actually from Texas,” Smith said. “I’m from a small town in Northeast Texas called Daingerfield, and it’s [in the] middle of nowhere. [Only] 2,000 people live there, so it’s really small.”
Smith shared what it was like to be bullied for their gender identity and sexual orientation. Smith praised the support system that stood by them and praised their father for staying alongside them through the tough times.
“Just being a mixed kid, I already stuck out a lot,” Smith said. “I never really had much of a Mexican heritage. I never had that culture in my life, so I didn’t really fit in with anybody.”
Throughout their story, Smith discussed the various ways they managed to find hope in times of struggle. Through supportive teachers, online friends and understanding family members, Smith found a support system that allowed them to ignore the negative comments being used against them.
“People started finding me weird and didn’t want to hang out with me anymore,” Smith said. “So I was only hanging out with the other weird kids. I wouldn’t have it any other way, honestly, because those were my people. We got along.”
To end the film, Smith explained their experiences as a queer person at Iowa State. Smith addressed various negative encounters with other students and professors and praised the Center for LGBTQIA+ Success and the Sloss House for their support of the queer community.
“Whenever I started to realize I was queer, it just ended up isolating me more from people,” Smith said. “It took me a while to figure it out, but even beforehand, people could notice that something was kind of off with me.”
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To view Smith’s story, click the watch link at the top of the article.
