Steve Willich Reflects on His Time at LGBTQ Resource Center

Located in the historic Tivoli building on Auraia Camus, The LGBTQ Resource Center might be easy to miss among the classes, computer labs, event spaces, and the food court. Yet, its influence on campus-wide, queer life cannot be overstated, and for the queer students who take advantage of its services, it is a haven.

If you entered the room in the past decade, you’d likely find Steve Willich, who served as the executive director of the LGBTQ Resource Center for the past 10 years. His congenial personality and passion for his position caused him to become a fixture on the campus, especially for those in the LGBTQ community. This semester, he moved on to a different position on campus, but he has left his lasting mark due to his achievements during his time as director.

The LGBTQ Resource Center does important advocacy and education work on Auraria Campus, but if you want to see the impact it has, all you’d need to do is walk into its social space. There, you’d see students hanging out, having lively discussions, connecting. Watching this, you can immediately understand what an important institution the LGBTQ Resource Center has become under the guidance of Willich.

Willich graduated with a degree in business administration only to find out that he didn’t appreciate the types of jobs he found himself in. After a short stint teaching business, he learned that he detested teaching. Working as a beer and wine distributor gave him some enjoyment, but he ultimately felt the position was shallow.

“I was tired of working for someone else’s profit; it didn’t mean anything to me. I wanted to find a position where I could have some meaning.” Willich says.

It was in 2008, he got his first job on Auraria Campus working for MSU Denver as an administrative assistant. It was in this position where he found both fulfilling work and an environment he enjoyed.

“Being on a college campus is good; I love the energy of being on a campus and connecting with MSU’s mission.” Willich says. “Knowing what we are doing really makes a difference in the lives of our students. We are not just here to help usher students through a party school; we are here to make a difference in their lives.”

Shortly after he started working for MSU, a position opened up for the executive director of the LGBTQ Resource Center. After some encouragement, he applied, and to his surprise, found himself with the position.

“When I first took the position, a lot of people referred to it as a mom-and-pop shop, not really taking it seriously; it almost seemed like a novelty for a lot of folks.” Willich explains.

Willich hoped to make a real difference on campus; he expanded the LGBTQ Resource Center’s services, clarifying what they offered and who they offered it to. He successfully advocated for an assistant director position, which allowed the office to expand their services. The LGBTQ Resource Center is a unique office; it is tri-institutional, meaning it serves students from all three schools on Auraria Campus. This unique status has allowed the center to impact the entire campus and bring students from all three schools together.

“It tells most students that their experiences are valid, that they are welcome on campus, that they do belong. Providing that space, providing that place to build community, to explore their identities with others like themselves, makes them feel like they are a normal part of the campus. It gives them that sense of belonging and feeling like this is a place that I should be,” Willich claims.

He also successfully advocated for larger space for the center, which they will have the chance to move into this year, a change that will give the office almost double the room it had before.

“My proudest accomplishment is, even though I’m a white, cisgender man, was the increase in services to trans and nonbinary students and serving our most marginalized students,” Willich says. “I think there’s a greater recognition of trans students and their identities and their issues. Not only restrooms, but the use of pronouns have greatly increased. The intersectionality piece, when I first started, it was hugely white in our office, and I worked to make sure we were reaching out to other populations, whether that was students of color, students with disabilities.”

During his time as director, the number of trans and nonbinary students that utilized the center steadily increased. The center was able to advocate for gender-inclusive bathrooms and locker rooms across the campus.

Willich also strove to bring diverse and interesting LGBTQ voices to campus, successfully bringing Dan Savage, Laverne Cox, and Janet Luck to Auraria Campus to speak to students.

Every year, the center puts on events open to all students and staff, hosts movie nights, provides access to their extensive library, and holds a Lavender Graduation for LGBTQ students. Often, those who worked at and used the resource center were at the forefront of advocacy movements, organizing, hosting events, and speaking on campus about their experiences, all supported by the LGBTQ Resource Center and their work.

“When you see the division of race and other issues in our country right now, it proves the fact that we need greater inclusivity; we need to get educated more and get to know people that are different to us, the problems and the issues that they face, so we are able to live as a great society.” Willich says.

Despite his policy achievements, Willich’s favorite part of the job was getting to connect with students.

“When a student would come into my office and sit down and talk about what’s going on in their day, what’s going on in their lives, that was the best part of my day.”

Willich has moved on to a different position, but he’s proud of his time as the director of the LGBTQ resource center and firmly believes in its continuing and important contributions to the campus. Now he works for MSU’s Center of Equity and Student Engagement in a role he hopes will also make a positive impact for the students of Auraria Campus.

Looking back, Willich’s favorite privilege of his former job was his chance to take students to the annual Creating Change Conference in D.C.

“Seeing them light up and see how much they enjoyed and thrived in an environment where it was all LGBTQ folks, they called it queer utopia. They saw the possibilities of what they could be and what they could do beyond the borders of our campus, beyond the borders of what Denver has to offer. I loved seeing them at that conference and seeing that excitement and energy.”

Photo courtesy of Steve Willich