- Hometown: Miami, Florida
- Year: Junior
- Major: Women’s & Gender Studies/ Journalism with a minor in Public Relations
- Hobbies: Writing, reading, tweeting, cooking, sleeping (I don’t get enough of it)
- Dream job: To be a motivational speaker, freelance writer, choreographer, and continued activism work
- Fun fact: I really love cooking– my mom didn’t have patience to teach me, so I watched the Food Network as a child to learn.
- Involvement on campus: Former editor of The Beacon, former SAPB Weekends Chairperson, Artistic Director of marked dance project, President-elect of CHOSEN: The Gender & Sexuality Alliance, contributing writer to The Pioneer Times, various university committees for student leadership, etc.
Mark Travis Rivera is a name definitively known around campus. If you don’t know him through his work in the dance scene on campus or his work in the LGBTQA community, you know him by his bright and bubbly personality. With his dare-to-be-different attitude and the multitude of his involvement on campus, he is well-deserving of a spot on our weekly celebrity page!
HC: Okay, so I know you love dancing; when did you start and how?
MR: I began dancing at the age of 15 years old but it wasn’t until I was 16 that I began formal training, and at 17 years old I started marked dance project. My mentor Erin Pride helped me and taught me a lot about what it means to be an artist and work in the non-profit sector.
HC: How was starting your own dance project? And what was the hardest part about it?
MR: I started the company because I wanted to create a space where disabled dancers like myself could go to learn, perform, and live out their dreams. It’s been a tough process but it’s been one hell of a ride in the last four years. I’ve grown a lot as an artist and an individual, I will admit though that my 17-year-old self had no idea what he was getting us into, but it has been one of the best decisions of my life.
I would say the hardest part was deciding that I would do it no matter what other people thought. A lot of people made fun of me and told me I would never be able to pull it off and that I was naive to think that I would ever get a chance to be a dancer/choreographer.
You can learn more about us by checking out our website.
HC: What is your involvement in the LBGTQA community on campus?
MR: I served as President of CHOSEN: the Gender & Sexuality Alliance from the spring of 2011 into the fall of 2011 and had an amazing time there. I was also the one who coordinated the committee to bring back LGBT History Month Celebration in the fall of 2012, and I have served on various committees relating to LGBT on campus. In addition, I also do a lot of community work off campus; I serve as the chairperson for the community advisory board for Project: Living out Loud, a youth drop in center for gay/bisexual men of color in the Hudson county area, a project of HYACINTH AIDS FOUNDATION.
HC: What is your favorite part about WPUNJ? Worst?
MR: My favorite part about Willy P is having the support of my Education Opportunity Fund (EOF); they are my family and have guided me along the way. I also love the various opportunities I have had to do a lot of event planning and bring in various speakers/performers, many of whom I am a huge fan of. For example, MDP brought Stacey Tookey in 2012 for a dance class; she’s an Emmy Nominated choreographer from the hit show on FOX, So You Think You Can Dance.
My least favorite part about Willy P is the lack of involvement from the students that attend. There are less student leaders and active students. We’re about 11, 000 students and yet many students don’t take advantage of their opportunities to go to events, get involved, and build on their leadership skills.
I also dislike that there aren’t more openly LGBT students on campus, I know a lot of people who are in the closet, and I am a firm believer that visibility is important in regards to progress, and I just wish I wouldn’t have to be labeled as the token gay Latino.
HC: What has been your biggest accomplishment so far?
MR: I’ve had so many surreal moments — such as President Waldron coming to MDP Spectrum dance show, or when I won the Dean of Students Award as a first year student, but I think winning the Voice & Action Award by Campus Pride this year for my work with the LGBT community both on and off campus has to be my biggest accomplishment thus far. Receiving the award in front of 450+ people at the northeast LGBT conference and getting a standing ovation was just breath taking. Unreal. A personal highlight — it made me think, how did a kid who grew up in Paterson get to stand in front of that podium and get such an honor?
HC: What do you have planned next for Mark Rivera?
MR: I was recently given the Immersion apprenticeship by AXIS Dance Company and will be relocating to Oakland, California in May to go dance and learn from the amazing company that is AXIS. They are icons in the integrated dance movement, including dancers with and without physical disabilities.
I am also currently working on my website, which should launch at some point in the summer of 2013, and I am working on my first book, “Marking The Path: A 21st Century Guide Through Life via Social Media.”
HC: How can people get involved with either your dance project or learn more about your efforts in the LGBTQA community?
MR: They can contact me directly via Facebook or Twitter @markingthepath, or they can email me at marktravrivera@gmail.com.