International students who are struggling with their homosexuality can talk to homosexual TU teachers. According to Leon Hombergen ‘this helps students become more resilient’.
Leon Hombergen: “International students sometimes think that you throw away your future if you come out of the closet.” (Photo: Connie van Uffelen)
TrueU, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) network for staff of TU Delft and the youth club Outsite have a new project for international students who struggle with their sexual identity. What triggered this?
“A student psychologist once asked me to talk to her and a student from India. The student was struggling with his homosexuality and with what it would mean for his career. I was able to reassure him and to show him that it is not a problem in the Netherlands. And many large international companies actually have provisions for homosexuals. He was not aware of this.”
What did you do then?
“I realised that more international students are probably dealing with this. Some students know that they are homosexual and make a conscious decision to come the Netherlands. They then ask themselves what would happen if they came out here. ‘Would I not be laying myself on the line?’ They grapple with this issue. By coincidence, I came into contact with the Bob Angelo Fonds and I could submit a proposal for the project with the Outsite youth club.”
What can you offer students?
“When students sign up, we use our network of staff members to find someone at the same faculty. We have a small budget to go for lunch with the student outside TU Delft. We exchange experiences and tell them what it’s like for people who are openly homosexual in their sector.”
Can openness sometimes negatively affect your career?
“Maybe in some places, but it depends on the sector. There is a network called Workplace Pride whose members include 50 large companies such as Shell, Unilever, Philips, KLM and Arcadis. They have diversity policies and hold themselves to them. Talking about this type of initiative shows the students that the world is open to them.”
How many students have signed up?
“Up to now, one. The student that was concerned about his career opportunities. His parents were worried too. They believe that you are gambling with your future if you come out and think that an expensive education is useless if you become gay. ‘Become’. If students come from an environment that thinks like this, they really should prove that it can be different. Students are welcome to talk about issues like this with us as we may know someone at a relevant company. This will help students become more resilient.”
TrueU is holding a network meeting with consultants on Tuesday 25 September. What is on the programme?
“The meeting is targeted at students, Dutch students too. Consultants from Accenture, McKinsey and the Boston Consulting Group will give presentations about their companies and talk about their diversity policies and their LGBT networks. The message that they want to give is that they are looking for top talent, regardless of people’s private lives.”
- Network meeting
- Location: IDE arena Faculty of Industrial Design
- Venue open: 16:30
- Welcome: 17:00
- Drinks: 18:15 – 19:00
Contact: TrueU
News editor
Connie van Uffelen
Do you have a question or comment about this article?
c.j.c.vanuffelen@tudelft.nl
Comments are closed.