Transgender activist finds his home in PSU

Nate Quinn, vice president of UF's Pride Student Union laughs as the group begins playing Dungeons & Dragons.

For Audio Assignment 2, I originally reached out to a woman I've seen at different LGBTQ+ events around Gainesville. We were set to meet on Sunday to take photos downtown and then Monday at a Pride Student Union social event, but she had to cancel last minute. I was terrified that I no longer had a story, and I wouldn't be able to complete the assignment on time. Luckily, she was able to point me in the direction of one of her friends, Nate Quinn, a transgender man and the vice president of PSU, who had a great story to share about his life and activism.

The PSU meeting started at 8 p.m., so I was nervous about whether I would have enough lighting to take photos of Quinn outside. We met about 30 minutes early, and I did my best to get some photos of him as he walked into Ustler Hall before the sun set. The next challenge was inside, where lighting was still a huge issue along with a lack of motion, other than when Quinn was setting up chairs for the meeting. To get around that, I took as many photos with the DSLR as I possibly could so I would have plenty of options when it was time to put the story together. Then I hooked up the microphone, pressed record on the Zoom, and hoped for good natural sound.
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Once the meeting was over, Quinn and I walked to Weimer Hall where I was able to find a quiet room for the interview. We talked for more than 45 minutes. His life story was incredibly interesting, and I was immediately glad I had the opportunity to speak with him. I found that I actually had too much I wanted to include, and had I been able to, I would have made the story at least three minutes long. Regardless, I am happy with my work and honored to share his experiences.

Here's his story: Nate Quinn: Understanding Gender