Welcome!
Another semester has come and gone!
Fall 2025 marked the return to a full staff for the Center, with the addition of Andréa Kaniuka as Assistant Director. The Center has now had the chance to operate with a team of three core positions (Director, Assistant Director, and Administrative Support Specialist), three student positions (Queer Graduate and Professional Students (QGAPS) Coordinator, Peer Support Group Facilitator, and UNC School of Social Work practicum student), and a new graduate student volunteer to assist with refreshing the UNC LGBTQ Center library.
This fall, the LGBTQ Center remained focused on fostering belonging, supporting student wellbeing, and creating spaces for learning and celebration. Through programming, direct support, and everyday connections, the Center remained a hub for affirmation and community on campus.
Introducing Assistant Director Andréa Kaniuka
Dr. Andréa Kaniuka joined the LGBTQ Center as Assistant Director in Spring 2025. She was born and raised in North Carolina and is an alumna of UNC Wilmington and UNC Charlotte, where she earned her PhD in Public Health Sciences. Prior to joining the LGBTQ Center, she served as a Research Scientist at NORC at the University of Chicago and as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Her work has primarily focused on mental health promotion and suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ communities, and she has published extensively in public health and social science journals. She is excited to support and serve students from her home state and brings expertise in curriculum development, program evaluation, and student mentorship to her role at UNC.
Safe Zone on Carolina Talent
Fall 2025 marked one year since our Safe Zone Foundational Curriculum was reintroduced in a new streamlined form on Carolina Talent, and 26 years since the establishment of the program at UNC Chapel Hill! We saw over 40 trainees this semester – keep an eye out for Safe Zone Continuing Education curricula to be reintroduced as well.
For more information on Safe Zone and to find out about our Spring training dates, check out our page on Safe Zone at the link below.
“This training was great! I am so grateful it is offered at UNC. It is important to educate people and keep the University a welcoming space.”
“Amazing! Everyone on campus should take this training.”
“I had a great experience with the Safe Zone training. I really appreciated how everyone in my cohort was willing to participate and learn from one another.”
Event Highlights
We started off our semester strong with our annual Fall Festival to help connect the UNC community to the groups and resources they need most on campus! This fall, students got the scoop with our theme “Q-mmunity Scoop,” where we welcomed 10 volunteers, 12 community partners, and over 120 attendees to enjoy an ice-cream themed evening catered by Locopops. Representatives from student groups like SAGA and EROT joined University resources like Student Wellness, the UNC American Indian Center, and the Carolina Women’s Center to welcome students to the fall semester. Despite the best Locopop flavor being hotly contested, the community focus from Q-mmunity Scoop set our semester off right and carried through the rest of our programming for the fall!
As we began to say goodbye to the warmer days of the summer and welcome the leaves changing, the LGBTQ Center collaborated with the North Carolina Botanical Gardens on “Come Out & Bloom” for National Coming Out Day in early October. This NCOD, we took students out to the gorgeous trails steps away from their campus to admire the way that queer identity shows up in nature. From fungi on the forest floor to the beautiful tree canopy above, the Botanical Gardens led us through the lessons we can learn from the world around us. Together, we celebrated National Coming Out Day in a way that rooted us deeper into the natural world.
A recurring event that we introduced this fall was CrafTea Time, a monthly crafternoon that swiftly became one of our most engaged-with events! Our students’ artsy side got to shine as we did paint-by-numbers over tea at Paint & Sip, created friendship bracelets alongside boba tea at Boba & Beads, and made cozy candles over cups of hot chocolate at Cocoa & Candles. Seeing the same faces each month built a strong group of friends, but the best part of these regular crafternoons is the new creations that decorate the LGBTQ Center’s walls each month. Stop by the Center to admire the handiwork from this year’s students!
Trans Day of Remembrance, held every year on November 20, is an opportunity to remember and honor the lives lost to anti-trans violence over the past year. For this TDOR event, we let our B.O.N.E.S. Student Ambassadors take the reins of planning: our group of 15 students chose to uplift student voices through an open mic that featured student poetry, song, and more, surrounded by the historical Coker Arboretum, in an event titled TDOR: Light the Way. Placed around the “stage” was a timeline of influential trans figures, a letter-writing station to trans youth through Point of Pride, and a station to create a small luminary. Our students created a reflective, tender space for memories to be held and hope to be felt.
Student Impact & Engagement
The events highlighted above are just some of the ways that students interacted with the Center this semester — in addition to the programming above, students and staff engaged with us through over 75 hours of Center and QGAPS programming, the B.O.N.E.S. Student Ambassador Program, our Peer Support Group, VPAS drop-in hours, Safe Zone training, direct support from the Center team, and other support spaces, leadership opportunities, and campus collaborations. Through the fall, the Center continued to serve as a vital resource for the Carolina community.
When students were asked what the most meaningful part of the year was, many shared that the Center was a place where they felt seen, supported, and empowered to be their full selves:
“It was such a fun and welcoming environment and I felt like I found my people.”
“[I was] able to spend time around others with similar interests and passion!”
“[I got] to meet and socialize with students I don’t think I would have met otherwise.”
“[I connected] with other queer/trans UNC students and learning about resources on campus/in the local area, and eating good vegan food!”
“[I shared] laughs.”
“[I met] other students who were interested in hearing a story about a Trans/Queer figure.”
Feedback from our semester survey reinforced the importance of this work. By far, what was highlighted most was the belonging that students felt because of our programming – we create intentional spaces for students to meet the community that was always there for them to find. With your support, the bridge for students and staff to resources and community grows even stronger.
Looking Ahead
As we look toward the next semester, we are excited to expand programming, deepen partnerships, and continue being a vital resource for all UNC students, staff, and faculty. The community that you help create makes our commitment to all of UNC that much more resilient and impactful.
GiveUnc 2026: Right around the corner!
GiveUNC is your annual opportunity to make the greatest impact for the UNC LGBTQ Center, so save the date for March 24, 2026! Donations directly support student programming, educational initiatives, and resources that make the Center a welcoming space for all. We are extremely grateful to every alum, student, parent, faculty, and staff who choose to support the programming of the LGBTQ Center. We hope you’ll consider contributing or sharing our campaign with your networks. If you can’t wait for March, that’s fine too – you can donate at this link!
Stay Connected
We invite you to stay connected with the LGBTQ Center by following us on social media, reading our newsletters, or visiting when you’re on campus. Thank you for being part of our extended community and for your continued support of all students at UNC!