Students in the middle and upper school attended Q-Quest on Oct. 13. Each year, Q-Quest, an event run by the Minnesota School Outreach Coalition (MSOC), hosts Queer, Trans, and Allied youth in Minnesota and neighboring states. Attendees participate in many activities throughout the day, ranging from drag performances to custom wood burning.
There were 10 students from SPA.
Sophomore Jack Bettenberg enjoyed his time at Q-quest: “The environment was really comforting because it was a lot of people who have a lot of shared experiences,” Bettenberg said.
This was Bettenberg’s third time attending the conference.
Inclusion is emphasized at the event.
“You [could] go alone to a place, and not with your friends, [..] sit down at your table and [everyone] is really friendly,” Bettenberg added. “It felt like they were your friends right away.”
Junior Nijah Johnson also had a good experience at the conference.
“I saw and met a lot of cool people like Drag Queens/Kings and people who do Ballroom. I even met Sharmane Lenoir, who is Miss Trans Minnesota 2024. There were plenty of things to do like workshops that involved meaningful conversations or just rooms to play games in,” Johnson said.
If interested in attending this conference next year contact Ethan Somes or Emily Weinstock-Collins for more information.
Correction: This story was updated on Dec. 2 to reflect the terminology used on the Q-Quest-MNSOC website and in the GLAAD Media Reference Guide. Names of the faculty attendees were also updated to remove courtesy titles.