Members of the Gay Straight Alliance of Mahopac High School had to make the difficult choice of which workshops to attend from the dozens available at the PrideWorks Conference at Pace University on March 19th.
Workshop topics included societal acceptance, bullying prevention, tackling homophobia and creating healthy relationships among many others.
Find out what's happening in Yorktown-Somersfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Mahopac’s GSA members were enthusiastic about the day. “I was blown out of the water, I learned so much about the community and myself,” said James Valle. “The most important thing I came away with was to be who you think you are and not who someone else thinks you are.”
“I would definitely go back,” said MHS student Gavin March. “It was a really positive experience, and I’d like to take some of the other workshops as well.”
Find out what's happening in Yorktown-Somersfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
PrideWorks seeks to inform communities about the realities of growing up gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, and to inspire them to respect and support LGBT people and to advocate for positive change. The annual conference attracts up to 500 attendees each year.
Mahopac High School teacher and GSA advisor Althea Daley agreed that the day was eye opening.“PrideWorks is a fantastic event that empowers and supports LGBT students and their allies. The workshops inform, guide and comfort teens who have additional challenges growing up, and shows straight students how to support their LGBT peers. It gives them an opportunity to understand and be understood.”
