Major: Biology
Age: 19
Hometown: Bayside, New York
It seems as if everyone on campus knows this week’s Campus Celebrity Natalia Fernandez. You may know her because you have either seen her on campus, worked with her at an ECQSA event, or it is possible that you follow her cat, Chloe on instagram. I believe that Natalia and Chloe are so well known on Eckerd’s Campus because they bring acceptance to Eckerd’s campus.
Natalia became a member of the Eckerd Community’s Queer Straight Alliance (ECQSA) last year, as she was already an ally. ECQSA’s goal is to make the queer community on campus more open; they want everyone to be accepted no matter what is their identity or preferred pronoun. Natalia currently serves as the communications chair of ECQSA requiring her to sends out emails to student-lists and club members. Her primary responsibility is to spread information about the club on campus and work with the other club leaders.
According to Natalia, ECQSA brings acceptance, color, and new views to the LGBTQQIAAP Community on our campus. An example of this is the Preferred Pronouns week that ECQSA held. The goal of Preferred Pronouns week was to let the Eckerd Community know that not everyone prefers to be called a guy or a girl. ECQSA has many more events coming up. Two that Natalia is particularly looking forward to are the Pride Parade and Allies Rock. ECQSA hopes to hold Eckerd College’s first ever Pride Parade this upcoming spring semester. This semester, Natalia is excited for Allies Rock, a concert where local school bands will perform. One aspect of Eckerd that Natalia hopes to change is slut shaming. She feels that slut shaming is a big problem on campus due to social media. Hopefully the ECQSA will be able to sponsor a CPS event on slut shaming next semester.
When asked what is her favorite aspect of Eckerd, Natalia immediately responded that she “loves everything about Eckerd.” She thought for a minute and added that she loves that she can have and live with her pet on campus. Natalia’s pet cat, Chloe, is a huge part of her life. Natalia received Chloe as a Christmas present during her sophomore year of high school. Her mom went to the animal shelter looking for a small, gray kitten and Chloe was the only cat available for single adoption. Natalia’s mom picked Chloe up to look at and Chloe clung to her and would not let go. Ever since, Chloe has been a large part of Natalia’s family.
Natalia encourages everyone to come out to the ECQSA meetings. They have meetings every Sunday at 8 pm.