Before I ever even met Dylan Goodman, who is currently a senior GSS major and Theatre minor, he gave me webtree advice. His aunt is a family friend, and when I sent her questions, he was all too happy to send back answers so I could figure out how to game the system of that Godforsaken class selection software. This is one of the most remarkable things about Dylan: how much he cares about creating good environments for the people around him, whether by helping them get the schedule they want (which I did!), or by making them feel welcome when they arrive on campus. Almost all his activities (which are incredibly numerous, I don’t know how he does it), are in some way connected to this idea. He proudly told me he’s been working for RLO for three years, because he loves being the first responder for students, facilitating a community, and generally being there for them as a resource and an educator on wellness. He is also a queer mentor, so he gets to work as a resource for incoming students who identify as LGBTQ.
Those of you who haven’t yet been lucky enough to meet Dylan in person still might know him from his incredible performances on the stage with the Davidson Theatre Department, and as DJ Goodz. Even these activities he describes as being, in many ways, about creating open, safe, and fun environments. He looks at it is two separate personas that achieve the same goals through different means. As an actor, he shows the most stripped down version of himself, it’s a time of intense vulnerability and is about creating art, which in itself creates a safe environment full of possibilities for those sharing in the experience. On the flip side of the same coin DJ Goodz is a larger than life persona, but when he is DJing, Dylan is trying to create a party atmosphere, play music that keeps people moving and pumped, just dancing and being themselves. He focuses on playing music that everyone will like but also all different genres and types of music to speak to all different kinds of experiences and people.
In addition to talking about the amazing environments he creates, we also got to talk about some of the ones he’s been in. This past spring semester he spent time in Nepal, Jordan, and Chile and spent the summer living in Brooklyn and working in Manhattan. He spent his time traveling conducting research on LGBTQ lives and identities around the world. In taking off on his adventure he said he expected that there would be nothing better than being gay in New York but was surprised to find that there are examples of thriving and oppression all around the world. One of the main conclusions of his research was that we should recognize that systems of oppression are worldwide constructs and if we let more voices into the discussion and tackle it on a worldwide basis we may get farther in eliminating it. He got to meet activists in Jordan, work with the Blue Diamond Society in Nepal, intern for GLAAD, (a leading LGBTQ media activism organization) in New York, and march in the pride parade all the way down Fifth Avenue to Stonewall after the supreme court made its legendary decision this summer.
He described the parade as an incredible sensation of feeling like the whole crowd was one in a moment of pure celebration. And in case you thought he was just Davidson famous, while he was frolicking down the streets of Manhattan, dancing harder than he ever had in his life, people were cheering for him like a rock star and constantly coming up to him to ask for pictures or kiss him. Plus, while enjoying some of the NYC nightlife, he was photographed for Next Magazine.
Dylan’s certainly got a lot ahead of him. When I asked him about the future, he said there are a lot of things he was interested in pursuing: activism, nightlife, something with a strong creative component, for a few examples. What is important, he said, is that he isn’t afraid. If his experiences of late have taught him anything, it’s that he can do it. He can find what he loves and make it on his own and do great things. While we’ll be sad to see him graduate come spring, we are fully in agreement that he’s going to do great things and we can’t wait to see what they are.