A panel of LGBTQ students said coming out was stressful but worth it in an event on Wednesday.

Six students from the Genders and Sexualities Alliance shared their stories on the Zoom panel to celebrate National Coming Out Day.

“If someone you love comes out to you, they’re not a different person,” Levi Walsh, a member of the panel, said. “They’re the same person, but you’re understanding them more.”

AACC celebrates National Coming Out Day every year with a week-long series of events. This year they held an LGBTQ resource fair and a Zoom discussion between faculty and staff on LGBTQ issues, as well as this panel.

Forrest Caskey, a professor of academic literacies and co-organizer of the event, explained the power that National Coming Out Day holds.

“It’s just a way of showing visibility, telling, like, telling our stories and getting us together because getting together is what we do.” Caskey said. “It’s part of our being in the LGBT communities.”

Another student shared their feelings on what coming out meant to them.

“I think that coming out is just an endless process that you will do multiple times in your life,” said Kris Laning, a member of the panel. “And countless times in your life. But it’s still empowering every single time you do it because [you] just know that people are there to support you with every time you do it.”