Laura Wells

GRADUATE OF THE YEAR 2022 (now RISING STAR)

TELL US WHAT YOU’VE BEEN UP TO SINCE WINNING YOUR AWARD IN 2022?

In the last 2.5 years, I've committed fully to being myself - loudly and authentically. I came out as non-binary at work and to all my friends and family, and I've honestly never been happier or more confident in myself. I feel so energised, it's made me much better at setting and maintaining boundaries and standing up for myself, and it's given me a lot more brain-space to do my day and gay jobs. I continued working at the same company for a further 2 years, continuing to build and expand the Pride network. I was commended by the British LGBT Awards for my efforts to make that organisation more LGBT+ inclusive; by driving engagement from senior leaders, developing and delivering training for exec teams, developing and delivering a series of reverse mentoring, leading the push for inclusive lanyards and teams backgrounds, setting up Trans+ safe spaces, organising and delivering outreach sessions for LGBT+ young people in partnership with The Kite Trust and Gendered Intelligence, sharing my story in schools, pushing for an inclusive travel policy and various other projects. I recently moved to Vodafone UK, who have an excellent track record in LGBT+ inclusion, and will be taking over as Trans Lead for our LGBT+ Friends network from February.

WHAT DID WINNING YOUR CATEGORY MEAN TO YOU?

I won the Graduate of the Year award in 2022, less than three years into joining the workforce. At the time, I was very much finding my feet and learning how to be 100% authentic whilst at work (and beyond). A lot of progress I had made I attributed (still do) to the Pride Network at my organisation, so I got involved and made some pretty big institutional changes that I'm really proud of. And as a real bonus, I learned a lot about different identities and came to understand what non-binary was - specifically (for me) that being Trans+ can be rooted in euphoria rather than dysphoria. So the QSA (which I received shortly after coming out as non-binary at work) felt like such validation of the personal journey I'd been on, and the impact I'd had on my workplace. The validation from QSA gave me so much confidence, that I was powerful and impactful because of who I am, rather than in spite of. The organisation I worked for was fairly early in its LGBT+ inclusion journey, so there wasn't such recognition internally. And when I won my award, people took notice - of my work, and of the wider network - in a way they hadn't before. It gave permission for others to apply for awards and external recognition, and paved the way for a lot of conversations with senior leaders that has had a lasting impact on the effectiveness of the D&I networks. But most of all, winning Graduate of the Year felt like a second graduation - like I'd grown into a queer professional, and a professional queer, and I am still extremely proud of it.

WHY DO YOU THINK THAT EVENTS LIKE THE QSAs ARE IMPORTANT FOR YOUNG LGBTQ+ PEOPLE?

Young LGBTQ+ people are navigating a lot of things as they move through school, university and the early years in the workplace. It can feel like there is a lot of pressure to come out and to be our authentic selves, and often it doesn't come with any kind of celebration of how brave we are to share these very intimate and personal stories. So having spaces like the QSAs, which celebrate and acknowledge the brilliance that comes with sharing our experiences and ourselves, allows young LGBTQ+ folks the supportive safe space to be themselves and to know that that is something worth celebrating. Every year I read the shortlists and the achievements and I feel so proud of all that the collective community has achieved - and I've found some great role models and inspiration. I love the QSAs for giving young Queer Folks a chance to shine and to feel seen.

OUR THEME FOR 2025 IS ‘QUEER POWER’. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW POWER DOES AND DOES NOT APPLY TO YOUNG LGBTQ+ PEOPLE AND/OR THE WIDER LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY?

There are lots of different forms and manifestations of power, but to me the most important is the feeling of being centred and happy in your own skin. To be able to sit with yourself and feel at ease is such a powerful feeling, because it gives you so much headspace and resilience to tackle anything that is thrown at you. And unfortunately, for a lot of us queer folks, society has taught us the opposite of that, that we should feel uncomfortable, that we shouldn't love or even like ourselves, that we don't deserve the superpower of self-acceptance. But when I am in a room full of other queer folks, I feel so much power from being in their energy. I see people who have told society that their happiness is more important than other people's expectations. And that isn't unique to queer people, but it is a shared experience - a shared power - that all queer people have. At some point, all of us have known that being ourselves will upset or anger some other people, and when we confront that, just by being ourselves out loud, it is so powerful.

ANNABEL LEE (they/them)

ACTIVIST OF THE YEAR 2021
Read interview here
CHRIS MATTLEY (he/him/his)

ROLE MODEL OF THE YEAR: EDUCATION 2022
Read the interview here
LAURA WELLS (they/them)

GRADUATE OF THE YEAR 2022 (now RISING STAR)
Read interview here
EMMA PRACH (any)

QUEER OF THE YEAR (runner-up) 2023
Read interview here
LOUISE-ANNE DE BELEN (any)

ROLE MODEL OF THE YEAR: STUDENT 2024
Read interview here
LUNA MIDDLETON-ROY (she/they)

QUEER OF THE YEAR 2024
Read interview here