Adrian Lampron uses they/them pronouns, and graduated from UW in 2022 with majors in History and Political Science and a LGBTQ+ Studies Certificate. Adrian is from Minnesota, and currently lives in Madison with their partner and pet snake. Since August of 2022, they have worked as a Compliance and Operations Assistant at Tammy Baldwin for Senate, the senator’s re-election campaign. Adrian spends most of their time there organizing donations to comply with federal campaign finance law. Their team and them use lots of spreadsheets and a database called NGP to do so. Adrian also manages interns, which is fun and rewarding. They love showing people how campaigns work and giving them some tools to make change.
How does Gender and Women’s Studies/LGBTQ+ studies matter in the day-to-day of your professional life?
Since middle school, I’ve wanted to use my career to make a difference and help people. In high school and college, I did a lot of student activism around social justice issues and worked on several political campaigns. I also got involved in student government, eventually serving as ASM Chair – UW’s student body president. My proudest achievement from that time is more than doubling the availability of gender inclusive housing at UW. I felt like I was helping my community, but I was burnt out by the time I graduated. So I took a break from politics and worked for the Madison Public Library for the summer as an AASPIRE intern. The library is amazing and I had a great time promoting all the free resources that they offer. Now I’m back in campaign world, but thankfully in a role with a better work/life balance than I’ve experienced in the past. I spend my free time playing in a pop-punk band called Hospitality Suite and hanging out with friends.
Making a workplace more inclusive is always an ongoing project, and it is very important to me. My LGBTQ+ Studies coursework gave me a deeper knowledge of systems of oppression and how people have worked to dismantle them. So I can be a leader in office conversations about inclusive hiring, for example. We need our movements to reflect the values we want to see more of in the world.
Do you have advice for students who may share your interests and may want to pursue a similar graduate degree and/or career?
Get involved! My degree gave me a lot of useful background and soft skills. But I learned all the technical skills I need from my job (like spreadsheets!) from part-time jobs, volunteering, student organizations, and on the job training. Also, when you have a job, unionize!
What do you remember fondly from the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies? Favorite class? Instructor
I loved learning from Professor Finn Enke in Trans(Gender) in Historical Perspective and Professor Tyrell Haberkorn in Queer Asia. These courses taught me that there are so many ways of living and being as a human and that it is extremely valuable to seek out marginalized perspectives and stories.
Living in the Open House Learning Community for two years, which is supported by the GWS department, was also a super impactful aspect of my time in college. I met many good friends, including one of my best friends to this day, through our queer dorm.
What, if anything, do wish you could tell your undergraduate self?
Get more sleep! And always have a snack with you