Felix Crawford

Going into high school, I was nervous. Having just completed elementary school in an unsafe, unsupportive and unkind environment, I was expecting to have a rough 4 years. I figured I wouldn’t be accepted because of my personality, looks, and gender identity, because I had never felt that support in my elementary environment. Little did I know at the time I would be met with unrelenting kindness and finally find my people. I came out as genderqueer and changed my name, and even ended up connecting to so many new friends and landing a job at URPride where I’ve worked for two years. Given a safe workplace where I was accepted as I was, I started my own program called GAPS to support youth in acquiring gender affirming gear that they couldn’t afford or couldn’t safely access. Since the program launch, I’ve been blessed with many emails from youth telling me how much the program improved their state of living and how thankful they are for my help. I’ve been able to independently run GAPS while maintaining my classes at a 92% average, creating a stable friend group, taking early start university (at the University of Saskatchewan for my Bachelors in Commerce) and delving into my passions for film, activism and photography. I never thought high school would present me with so many opportunities to better myself and my community. My advice for freshmen? Highschool isn’t as bad as the movies say. Good luck!