Through Rising Stars, the oSTEM D&I team strives to share the many faces and identities in the LGBTQ STEM communities. Meet Phoebe Bisnoff (she/her, they/them), a senior studying Chemical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Phoebe discusses the difficulties they found moving to the other side of the country for school as well as finding a community within STEM.
Being a butch non-binary lesbian made finding a place among their STEM peers difficult. Due to this lack of space, Phoebe ended up founding the chapter at UMass and served as their President for 3 years. As a result, Phoebe says that their oSTEM chapter became a fiercely loving community. Phoebe credits their oSTEM experience with propelling their involvement in other university climate enrichment programs and helping them to improve their own mental health, GPA, and confidence for the next step in their journey.