Tess Spooner (she/they) graduated from Loyola in 2022 with a BA in Women's Studies & Gender Studies and Political Science; she also completed a minor in African Studies & African Diaspora. While at Loyola, they played in Womxn Club Rugby, worked as outreach coordinator with the campus group CHANGE, and volunteered as a Sexual Assault Advocate at Resilience. After completing her undergrad degree in May 2022, Tess decided to take a gap year to have a short break from school before obtaining her masters. Currently, they are in Chicago working as a nanny, and they joined an adult rugby league in addition to continuing to volunteer with Resilience. She plans to stay in Chicago and begin a Master's degree in Women's Studies and Gender Studies next fall.

From Tess:
Before arriving at Loyola, I declared my major in Women’s Studies and Gender Studies because I felt passionate about feminist ideology, and I was eager to learn more about how to be a better advocate. One of the most influential parts of my experience in the WSGS program was when I had the opportunity to work in the department's office. My time as an undergraduate at Loyola was unusual with the pandemic combined with completing my degree in three years rather than the traditional four. When it came time for me to participate in an internship associated with Women’s Studies and Gender Studies, it was my first semester back from Zoom University. After applying to a few organizations around the city and not feeling passionate about my options, I reached out to the undergraduate program director. To my luck, the WSGS office at Loyola needed a new Alumni Relations Intern.

This opportunity was extremely exciting because even with the pandemic, I felt strongly about the program and working to support its continuation. Becoming a member of the WSGS office allowed me to put into practice the things discussed in my classes: moving away from power dynamics, active listening, and empathetic understanding of other positionalities. The office was unique in its emphasis on community. I found that working in this feminist office was different than other spaces because of our ability to make each other feel valued as people, not just employees. We worked alongside each other, supporting not only our projects and responsibilities around the office but also supporting our personhood as individuals who had lives outside of the office. By establishing friendships in the workplace, we created an environment where we felt appreciated outside of our productivity, which made the office more enjoyable to work in. Feminism in an office workspace is important not only for the sake of being feminist and promoting feminist practice, but it also influences the way we work with one another. The way we speak to one another with compassion and the ability to come into the office as our authentic selves demonstrate the feminism at work.

Prior to joining the WSGS department team, I felt community was lacking in my undergraduate experience. Working in the office helped me strengthen my relationships with students and faculty within the program. I found that making relationships with people who share similar values encouraged me, through the stress of academia, to be a better student and helped me construct a system of support. Even if someone does not have the opportunity to work within their department’s office, I found that establishing connections with more students, both undergraduate and graduate, and professors or other faculty members to be the most positive influence on my time at Loyola. These connections enabled me to build community and support as a student.