Monique Griffin

Monique is a freshman pre-law student at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon. Her goal is to become a lawyer so she can participate in the effort to change a system that wasn’t designed by people like her and is not equitable for marginalized people. She is proudly tri-cultural: a bi-racial Black trans woman raised in a primarily white Deaf household where American Sign Language was her first language. Born and raised in Eugene Oregon, her early experiences included not only racism and transphobia in public schools but also having to help her mom navigate bureaucratic social services.  As a result, she has dedicated her life to creating equitable systems for all people. In addition to attending school full-time, she works two jobs, closely follows politics, and volunteers in a variety of ways in the community.