English Majors win BEAR Innovation Competition

Tom Armstrong ’20 and Robin Gow ’18 won second and third place of the BEAR Innovation Competition. The winners were announced Sunday, April 8, 2018.

Armstrong won $2,500 to fund his next video project, which is his Summer Fellows project. Last year, he won $1,000 from the “Ready, Set, Go” category of last year’s competition to fund his movie.

Gow won $1,500 to support his non-profit organization Trans-cendent Connections, which pairs transgender teenagers with transgender college students and adults in a mentoring program. Gow described his organization and said, “Trans-cendent Connections is a program creating connections between transgender youth and transgender adults/college students. It’s similar to big brothers/big sisters in that these pairs meet on a regular basis but the connections focus on building trans community, finding local resources, and building self-advocacy skills.”

His inspiration for his organization stemmed from meeting LGBTQ students at a high school and heard that they wished for more connections within the LGBTQ community. Gow’s plan for the cash reward involves getting a lawyer and accountant to help the non-profit receive donations that are tax deductible. He also hopes to invest in tables and local pride festivals. Gow said, “I’m really excited about the possibilities for our organization to impact trans youth in the area.”

The English Department is proud of our students and hope that their plans are executed well.