建立社区的创造力

Most of us will never face the dilemma 约书亚麦基 ’13 faced in fall 2023 — reunion or red carpet?

“这不仅仅是红地毯，”麦基解释说. “我被邀请担任NewFest短片类的评委, 这是纽约的一个电影节，致力于突出LGBTQ+电影. It was scheduled the same night as my ten-year reunion at Lenoir-Rhyne, which I helped plan. 我不是轻易做出这个决定的, 但我必须参加这个节日——这是一个巨大的荣誉, 我明白了，因为人们真的在读我的作品.”

目前, 麦基的大部分作品发表在电子杂志《全球网赌十大网站》上, a publication that describes itself as “a space for the queer community to talk openly about our lives, 激情, 奋斗和想法.2022年4月, Mackey joined the Into staff as an assistant editor after spending two years building an extensive freelance portfolio 写作 commentary and analysis about popular culture as well as political and social issues.

“我仍在寻找表达自己的新方式. I’m lucky because I can also help others be able to express themselves too — which is just as important to me,麦基说。. “任何工作, 如果你能把它变成你自己的，会有帮助, so I try to do that for myself and also show both my colleagues and my readers how to find that value for themselves.”

成为一只熊

在谢尔比长大, 北卡罗莱纳, 经常去新泽西看望家人, Mackey embraced his creativity from an early age with full encouragement from his parents.

“我是一个非常矜持的孩子, 艺术是唯一能让我自由表达自己的东西, 所以我的父母让我参加不同的活动和营地——视觉艺术, 乐队, 合唱, 剧院, 写作.”

受祖父母的影响，麦基的注意力转向了阅读和写作.

“我的祖父母在泽西海岸开了一家打印店, 他们会给我做笔记本, 然后我学会了如何做打印工作——笔记本, programs and whatnot — and just seeing those finished products gave me a taste of interest in 写作,麦基回忆道. 后来，我的两位祖母都把我培养成了一个狂热的读者. 我喜欢《全球赌博十大网站》这本书因为谁不喜欢当观察者呢? So, I like to think all those pieces converged to inspire my career trajectory now.”

麦基上高中的时候, 他的信心大大增强了, but he was planning to enroll at a large state university when his mom urged him to apply to Lenoir-Rhyne. 她看到了LR的小册子，认为它可能很适合她的儿子.

“Ultimately what brought me to LR was funding — I got a lot of scholarships — but I had only been to Hickory twice in my life. 我很怀疑, 甚至当我签约来这里的时候, 但等我参加完培训, 那是家,麦基分享道。. “我真的相信我本可以去的所有学校, LR是最好的选择, 最好的体验, 手了.”

尽管他们很想让他上勒努瓦-莱恩学院, Mackey’s parents cautioned him against overextending himself with activities and coursework in his first year — advice he gleefully ignored.

“校园里发生了很多事情，我不得不去看看，”他解释说. “我获得了乐队和无伴奏合唱团的奖学金. 然后我听到了怒族福音合唱团的表演，我不得不加入. Through Nu Generation I met members of the Black Student Alliance (BSA), so I had to join that too. 这变成了滚雪球效应.”

Mackey went on to join Theta Xi fraternity and then became a resident assistant (RA). He also worked as a Bear of Distinction (BoD) for the Office of 全球赌博十大网站 and as an assistant in the library. He joined the Student Government Association (SGA) and served as secretary and vice president. 在他大四的时候，他还被评为返校节国王和春季舞会国王.

作为一个黑人, 酷儿的学生, the organizations I joined helped me find and build a community for myself at LR,麦基说。. “I wanted to be in a space where we weren’t just together to pursue our academics, 但是全球网赌十大网站可以在大学生活中互相支持. 我认为这是驱使我成为一名作家的东西. I’m still helping build those safe spaces of support and community, just in a different form.”

开始传播消息

One member of the community Mackey found at Lenoir-Rhyne would have the most profound effect on his future — his hus乐队 Clifton Garmon ’13.

“全球网赌十大网站在搬家的第一天就认识了. 他和我一样积极参与校园活动，如果不是更积极的话。”麦基分享道. “全球网赌十大网站在SGA和BSA一起做了很多很棒的工作. 全球网赌十大网站交了很多好朋友，至今仍保持联系, 全球网赌十大网站把所有关于LR的核心记忆都带到了一起.”

The couple brought those memories and their love for LR and each other with them when they moved to New York City after graduation. Garmon在哥伦比亚大学攻读社会工作硕士学位. 他说服了麦基, 谁主修管理学, 那个研究生院对他也有好处.

“我喜欢纽约大学, so I applied to the graduate programs in music business and in human resources because those both fit my academic background. 我被人力资源项目录取了，所以我就在那里注册了。”麦基说.

在完成他的研究生课程之后, 麦基在人力资源部工作了几年, 首先是高盛的ADP承包商, 然后在NBC. 而他喜欢在人力资源部门工作, 感觉不太合适, so Mackey then pivoted to higher education by accepting a position as assistant director of residential and student life at the Columbia School of Professional Studies.

“这是一段完整的旅程. When I moved to New York, I was going to grad school with plans to work in human resources. Then I moved into higher education and thought now my life is higher ed,” Mackey said. “我总是倾向于全力以赴, but I’ve been learning how my job is part of my existence but it’s not my whole existence. I leaned heavily on all my experiences — from being an RA at LR to my work in HR — while working at Columbia. It was a multifaceted position, but I still didn’t feel like I was growing the way I wanted to.”

So, Mackey turned back to the creative outlet that had brought him so much joy since childhood and started 写作 poetry to process his thoughts and feelings.

“后来我开始写文章, 我加入了一个叫Blavity的网站, 这是一家以黑人为中心的科技公司. 我提交了一篇专栏文章, 没指望它能出版, 关于前NBA球星德维恩·韦德支持他的女儿, 谁是变性人?. 

"It meant something to me to see a Black straight cis [identifying with gender assigned at birth] father loving his queer child, 我知道这对其他黑人酷儿来说也意味着什么,麦基分享道。. “然后它出版了，我想，‘哦! 人们关心我的作品. 这是野生的.’”

Mackey went on to publish several more pieces with Blavity and expanded his work to the pop-culture websites Nerdist and Geeks of Color.

“我开始谈论漫威, 黑人代表有多少, 酷儿代表是怎样的. 然后我开始谈论漫画中的代表性，”他说. “我采访了一些非常有趣的人. 这是超现实的. 有一天早上，6点.m.当时我正在客厅采访安东尼奥·班德拉斯.”

随着麦基投资组合的增长, he took on copy写作 work and other projects that allowed him to move into freelance 写作 as a profession. 他在波因特学院完成了学业，以完善他的手艺. 后来，他的作品引起了INTO及其母公司Q的编辑们的注意. 数字.

“作为助理编辑, I’m part of the team that ensures we’re making a mark on Gen Z and millennial LGBTQ+ readers, but also that we’re appealing to anyone who feels marginalized — we’re here to amplify those voices and give them a platform,麦基说。.

自从找到并分享了他的声音, Mackey has reflected on where he has been and how all his work and study up to this point continue to affect what he does day to day.

“我很幸运能有这么多机会, but I hope others can look at my example and see how specific degrees or experiences don’t have to limit those opportunities,他说. “你会以意想不到的方式使用你所知道的东西.”

麦基也在展望自己未来的作家生涯, thinking he may want to branch into more creative endeavors in fiction or nonfiction.

“对我来说，写作一直代表着自由. 当我还年轻，特别害羞和矜持的时候, I used 写作 as a way to be able to say what I wanted to without the fear of others looking at me or judging me,他分享道. “写作也是创造社区的一种方式. 当你分享一个最喜欢的作家或有一个故事或文章的谈话, 你正在形成联系, 在那个时间点创建社区.”