Alumni Spotlight: MALS Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Researchers

I joined MALS because I felt it would help make me more competitive for an eventual doctorate. The fact that it offered a multi- and interdisciplinary education meant I could explore multiple trajectories and also feel like I’m making progress.

It’s been a while now but I believe my concentration was “Social Identity and Inequality.” The project was essentially just a Master’s thesis about feminist histories of activism and organizing. I had a good time doing it but in all honesty I don’t regard that piece of writing very highly. I’m starting to learn it’s quite common for people to look back on their work and wish certain elements were different, and I definitely feel that. I hadn’t quite refined my main research interests at the time so retrospectively I think the project feels a little aimless… But I do feel it was really important in developing some professional academic skills and in getting me to think about research questions that I would want to answer later. It reads as something of an historic primer to feminist activism, and it’s really nice having that groundwork as I go forward within Gender Studies, which is where I am now.

Currently I am a doctoral student at Indiana University’s Gender Studies program. My main research centers around transfeminine embodiment and representation within film media. I recently published an article on pornographic representations of trans women in Porn Studies, which is quite exciting, and it seems right now that I’m going to be thinking around issues related to porn for at least a few more years. Otherwise, I’ve just been doing my best and taking care of coursework. 

The program definitely helped shape my academic trajectory. I ended up going into another MA at UNCG, this time in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at the behest and recommendation of a professor (Karey Harwood) I worked with during my time with MALS. I also feel as though I got a lot of research training by way of some of the courses I took, which came in handy in my next MA and helped me to write a larger, more involved thesis at UNCG. I often find myself referring back to notes from some of the courses I took during the MALS degree. I guess that’s just kind of how knowledge works; it keeps building on what you already know, and MALS gave me a really solid foundation.

I really loved working as a TA for Michael Garval’s special Maymester course on Collections. It was totally different than anything I’d been used to at that point; we went on field trips nearly every week to talk about such and such archive or collection, and we met so frequently for such long periods of time—it was very intense. I loved it though. Absolute blast of a course.

Not really, not anything urgent. But I suppose if I were to give my past self advice I’d probably say that a project, even a final MA project (and to PhD students, your dissertation), doesn’t have to be your magnum opus. It just needs to be something you put effort and energy and love into. Take your time in your academic career and pay attention to the work you’re doing and the readings you get. It’s such a cliche but it’s true that you really won’t ever have this amount of time that you can devote to reading again, probably ever. So take advantage of it while you can.

My immediate family are NC State graduates, and I started my undergraduate degree here in (1980). It was natural that when I began thinking about going back to school, NC State was first on the list. Additionally, as an adult learner, working with former MALS Director Dr. Garval and the MALS faculty gave me confidence in my ability to complete my degree.  

As a creative person, I love to pursue my original ideas. However, the freedom and flexibility to choose the classes interested me the most. My MALS degree in Women in Leadership was interdisciplinary, and no other programs offered could provide the array of classes and experience I needed to create it.

My academic program concentration was on Women in Leadership. This concentration was chosen due to my extensive background working with women as the State Executive Director of the NC Council for Women and Youth Involvement Office, including the Student Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), State Internship Program, and State Youth Council.   

In this position, I served as the state’s leading authority on domestic violence, sexual assault, youth and family advocacy, and human trafficking. My experience inspired me to learn more about how to further advance my career, specifically in empowering other women and underrepresented communities in North Carolina. For my culminating project, I developed a Community Advisory Board (CAB) to aid, advise, advocate, counsel, promote, and make recommendations to strengthen program connectivity outside the walls of academia. Its goal was to assist women in obtaining paid summer internships. The program was housed in the Women’s Center.

As the state director of the Council for Women and Youth Involvement, I needed to ensure that women’s and families’ voices were heard in the governor’s office, State legislature, Governor Crime Commission, health and human services, and other state agencies where the voice of advocacy would champion and impact their well-being.

Confidence is an attribute, women themselves identify as the key to leadership success. Girls in early adolescence begin to lose their voice, begin to lack confidence, their self-esteem plummets and there is probably nothing more important than supporting the growth of courage. A woman’s view of leadership begins to take shape early in childhood, starting with the values learned, exposure to leadership skills, and interactions with positive leadership roles. 

Since graduating, I’ve done a lot to support families and adolescents in schools and communities. Since 2017, I have traveled with the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) as a speaker to school personnel on supporting adolescents in schools and communities. 

I developed Project Arrow, an evidence-based life coaching and peer-to-peer mentoring program for middle and high school students. It is the first of its kind in NC and is funded by the NC Department of Public Instruction. 

I graduated from the NCSU Family Life Coaching graduate program. I am a Certified Family Life Coach Expert (CFLCE) and a member of the Family Life Coaching Association (FLCA) and the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

When I’m not advocating for families, coaching middle or high school students, or consulting with schools. I am a prolific writer and contribute blogs to WRAL-TV, Today’s Parent, and Modern Mom. My writing focuses on family dynamics and life coaching. I am a Parent and Teen Life Coach.

I am also making a podcast interviewing interesting, dynamic, and knowledgeable guests about parenting and community building called “Coached, Not Mothered.” Stay tuned for updates!

My MALS degree gave me the growth to be courageous and the confidence to pursue what my mind can conceive! Confidence, like with many women, is the key to leadership success.

The cohort of people that I shared my experience with. For example, Dr Patterson was an amazing professor, and he encouraged us to speak, and there was no wrong answer. At the end of each dialogue, he would say thanks for sharing. How liberating. 

The other was Dr. Shelly Smith’s Museum Studies class. We went on weekly excursions to meet museum experts in their field, and I enjoyed being exposed to the arts in various ways. Each of these classes was redemptive and felt like an adult setting.

“Success is when my reality looks like what’s in my imagination. I am always creating: Thinking of something that will change the world. So, I tell myself, don’t be afraid to fail but go find someone who already has an answer to what I am pursuing. So, I try again. “

Simon Senek