McDonough Alliance, a student group that seeks to bridge the gap between queer students and professional opportunities, has changed its name to Georgetown LGBTQ+ Mentors and Resources and expanded events beyond career guidance to promote broader student involvement.
Changing the McDonough Alliance’s name to GLMR affirms the organization’s commitment to Georgetown LGBTQ students across all four undergraduate schools, GLMR President Tanner Daggy (MSB ’20) said.
“Our mission is to provide queer students at Georgetown with professional mentorship and information about career opportunities that they might not otherwise have access to,” Daggy said. “We are rebranding to reinforce the McDonough Alliance’s commitment to serving all students, not just those in the MSB.”
The name McDonough Alliance was misleading for students at the annual Council of Advisory Boards fair because it seemed limited to students in the McDonough School of Business, according to GLMR board member Colin Maloney (SFS ’20).
“The number one question I get at CAB fair when I table for it is, ‘Do I have to be in the MSB?’ And I’m like, ‘No, I’m on the board and in the School of Foreign Service,’” Maloney said. “I think it’s a good marketing change. It’s really just to emphasize our commitment to all students, not just those in the MSB.”
GLMR is set to host a resume and cover letter review workshop in Red Square on Friday as a kick-off event for the rebranding, according to GLMR’s Facebook page. GLMR plans to begin hosting events for HIV/AIDS testing and events supporting LGBTQ homelessness in Washington, D.C., according to Daggy.
Among its services, GLMR offers mentorship, targeted recruiting and social events to Georgetown undergraduates. Students are welcome to attend GLMR programming whether they are pursuing careers in finance, government, advocacy, medicine or any other field.
GLMR has also worked with other student groups on campus to promote LGBTQ advocacy, including GU Pride, which works to provide a welcoming space for LGBTQ students, and GU Queer People of Color, which seeks to create an environment cognizant of the intersections between race, gender and sexuality and conducive to constructive conversations.
The organization currently seeks to expand its presence among underclassmen as well, considering students may begin pursuing jobs early in their Georgetown career, according to Maloney.
“We want to be there every step along the way of finding a career, whether you know what you want to do yet or whether you’re interviewing for that job after senior year,” Maloney said.
The GLMR board also aims to adjust its leadership strategy to encourage more underclassmen input, Daggy said.
“McDonough Alliance has always been pretty ‘board-centric,’ meaning that we put on events for other people,” Daggy said. “But we hope that going forward, it’s more of a grassroots thing where the underclassmen tell us what they need from us, and we’re listening to them and giving them what they want.”
The group has also collaborated with the on-campus LGBTQ Resource Center, which celebrated its 10th anniversary with OUTober, an annual monthlong programming series honoring the LGBTQ community, in October 2018.
Many LGBTQ students have unanswered questions when applying to jobs, including whether or not to put information about their identity and sexual orientation on their resume, according to Daggy. GLMR provides these students with a resource that can answer their questions and reaffirm the value of their identities, according to Daggy.
“It wasn’t until I got to college and it wasn’t until I joined McDonough Alliance that I realized what an asset being queer in the job application process is,” Daggy said. “Companies really are looking for different backgrounds, different experiences.”
