In recognition of Pride Month, we’re celebrating our students, staff, and faculty in the LGBTQ+ community!
Francine Aclan is a Business Administration major with an emphasis in global business. She graduates in December! She is passionate about integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into the hospitality and travel industry.
Francine currently serves as president of CLU PRIDE, FILO, and Dear Asian Youth on campus. She is also an undergraduate representative of our School of Management DEI Steering Committee.
“I’ve been involved with CLU PRIDE for my entire academic career. We host LGBTQ+ events such as our annual drag show, National Coming Out Day, etc.”
One accomplishment Francine is proud of during her time at Cal Lutheran is building the Center for Cultural Engagement and Inclusion (CCEI) patio!
“During my first year here I was a senator for ASCLUG. My main mission as a senator was to promote DEI on-campus and support cultural club meetings. I was able to accomplish that with my senate project: building the CCEI patio, an outside extension of the CCEI office that can be used for cultural events. It was recently used this year for our annual LGBTQ+ Dinner, which I hosted!”
When asked about someone in the LGBTQ+ community that has inspired her, Francine expressed: “Jonathan ‘JoGo’ Gonzales, former Senior Coordinator of the CCEI and Club Advisor of CLU PRIDE, really inspired me to become more active in the LGBTQ+ community and student activism. He’s one of the main reasons why I’m so active in DEI work today. It’s really empowering to be able to see my own identity as a queer person being represented in my mentors such as him.”
“Pride Month, to me, is an acknowledgement of the LGBTQ+ history that has led us to this moment and an encouragement of continuously creating a history that drives our community forward. It represents a celebration of LGBTQ+ lives and a promise to protect LGBTQ+ lives.”
Original source can be found here.
