Alumni Spotlight

Roxy Moon

Roxy graduated from both the SDS Undergrad Specialization and the SDS Graduate Collaborative Specialization, and now works at the ArQuives as Project Archivist for digital materials.

1. How did SDS shape you as a person? 

SDS has made me a more inquisitive person and has given me a strong critical eye, which are both things I find central to who I am. It has also allowed me to develop a compassionate thoughtfulness and collaborative urge that was fostered by what I was learning and how discussion was central to so many courses.   

2. How did the coursework shape your career interests?

SDS was instrumental in shaping my career interests, especially in how students are urged to think through history, and the ways that we can look to primary sources and the historical record to gain greater understanding of our current cultural climate. In my fourth year I took the placement course (SDS490, Engaging Our Communities), which led me to working in the Sexual Representation Archives under the department. This blended learning allowed me to hone my skills and use things I was learning through my readings and coursework to find what I would be interested in as a career.

3. Is there any memory from your time at SDS that you hold on to?

One of my favourite memories from the program was taking the undergraduate capstone class and sitting outside for our classes at the University College quadrangle. It was the first year of in-person classes again after lockdowns, and it was a very warm welcome back. 

4. What is your advice to current and future SDS students?

Let your interests guide you and remain open to the different directions you are being pulled toward.

Everyone in the program wants to see you succeed, and 

Use the time to learn how to contribute to the community. SDS is incredibly collaborative, and learning how to contribute to that environment will help you long past graduation.

Dr. Alex Wells

Dr . Wells graduated with an SDS minor in 2011. They completed a collaborative master’s program in MSW in 2018. They write:

“I took my first SDS course because I wanted to learn more about myself and how I related to the world around me. I had so many questions about sex and gender and why I felt so differently about these ideas than everyone around me seemed to. SDS gave me the opportunity to ask these questions and to learn from how other queer and trans folks thought about/navigated/celebrated sex and gender. I walked out of SDS with an analysis of power that understands sex and gender are central pillars around which society is organized and bringing me to become a social worker, supporting the health and wellbeing of queer and trans people. As an Assistant Professor of Social Work, at the University of Northern British Columbia, I am bringing the learning I did in SDS into my classroom, preparing future social work practitioners to think about sex, gender and power to support the health and wellbeing of queer and trans people.”