Breaking News: East Hosts Speaker Samantha Ruggles

Samantha Ruggles, the executive director of the KC Center for Inclusion, spoke about “What it is like to be a transgender woman in KC” on April 4. The event was hosted by the SME Diversity & Inclusion Committee and Bridges KC.

The Gay-Straight Alliance also worked to help organize the event, and work closely with East’s Feminist Club, lead by Iman Jaroudi, who attended the event.

“Samantha [Ruggles] talked a lot about authenticity, and how she got the courage to be an authentic person,” Jaroudi said. “She spent a lot of time trying to suppress who she really was, but she did a great job sending a message that being yourself is always the best option.”

Ruggles also helped inspire everybody at the event to keep doing their great work to keep East as welcoming and accepting as it already is. And empower those to keep fighting for equality and acceptance in our community, according to Jaroudi.

There were about 12 people at the event, according to Jaroudi.