Welcome 2019 Youth Interns!
Every year Out Boulder County hires youth in the community to plan, organize and run our two biggest youth events: The Night of Noise Youth Summit and the LGBTQ and Ally Dance. This year we expanded our youth intern program and have hired 6 youth to put on these events (twice as many interns as last year)!
The Night of Noise Youth Summit is held the evening of the Day of Silence each year. The Day of Silence is the GLSEN's annual day of action to spread awareness about the effects of the bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning students. Students take a day-long vow of silence to symbolically represent the silencing of LGBTQ students. The Night of Noise event will be held on April 12th this year. Stay tuned for more details!
Our LGBTQ and Ally dance is a great opportunity for the LGBTQ youth in our community come to dance, have fun, access resources, and build community! Many traditional school dances are not welcoming or affirming of LGBTQ individuals or couples, therefore the LGBTQ and Ally Dance serves as a safer space for these youth to be visible and celebrated while having fun and building community! Our LGBTQ and Ally dance will be held on Friday, May 3rd this year at the Arapahoe YMCA in Lafayette. Stay tuned for more details to come!
2019 LGBTQ and Ally Dance Event Planning
O (They/them/theirs)
My name is O Stecina, I'm non-binary (they/them), 18 years old, and a Senior at Erie High School. I'm Erie's Senior Class President and President of the GSA club. I enjoy swimming, singing, playing violin, and watching movies and YouTube. I wanted to join the crew because I want to give back to the queer community!
2019 LGBTQ and Ally Dance Fellowship Intern
Bella (She/her/hers)
Hi there! My name is Bella Russell and I use She/her/hers pronouns. I’m the youngest of three siblings, and am currently 13 years old. I’m an 8th grade student at Westview Middle School in Longmont, Colorado. My main passion is music, and I’ve been playing some kind of instrument since I was 5 years old, including: voice, piano, flute, and ukulele. My mother is native Argentinian so I speak and understand Spanish almost as well as English. I have volunteered my time at my current and prior schools to support various PTA and student activities and look forward to more service in my community regarding volunteer programs supporting equality. My inspiration for joining Out Boulder County comes partly from my eldest brother Cortland, who currently leads the successful national non-profit oSTEM, and who’s encouragement and support has not only helped me in my journey but also many LGBTQ+ professionals.
2019 Night of Noise Intern
Luka (He/him/his)
My name is Luka Hooks, my pronouns are he/him/his, I’m 18, and I am a student at Centennial BOCES High School. Outside of school and home life, I work with an organization called Youth Advocating for Change (YAC). In the YAC, our mission is to benefit the underserved youth in our community. I joined the OBC Youth Intern team to give back to a community that is always helping others.
2018 LGBTQ and Ally Dance Artistic Development
Franky (They/them/theirs)
Franky Branch, they/them, 18 years old. I'm the former president for my high school GSA. I continue to work with OASOS, who informed me of the Out Boulder Community internship opportunity! The chance to give back to my community is wonderful and exciting.
2019 Night of Noise Youth Intern
Ashley (She/her/hers)
My name is Ashley Bilbrey (She/Her/hers), I am a 18 year old high school senior, and I've lived in Colorado my entire life. My interests are art and technology. I wanted to join the Out Boulder Youth Intern team because I wanted to contribute to my wonderful community.
2019 Night of Noise Fellowship Intern
Laurel (She/her/hers)
Hello! My name is Laurel Galvin, I use she/her pronouns and I'm a freshman and Fairview High School. I'm part of the GSA at my school along with the mountain bike team and the choir and in my free time I love to bike, play soccer, read, write, make music, and hang out with my friends. I joined the OutBoulder intern team because I love the community that OutBoulder offers and I wanted to be a part of it. It's an honor to help improve this community to make life better for myself and people like me everywhere.
2019 Night of Noise Intern Volunteer
Lauren (She/her/hers)
Hey! My name is Lauren van de Poll, I use she/her/hers pronouns, I am 16 years old, and I am a Junior at New Vista High School. In my free time I enjoy playing guitar, singing, photography, being outside, writing, and spending time with my loved ones. I wanted to join the Out Boulder 2019 Youth Intern team because I aspire to make a change in my community and I am very interested in non-profit organizations.