De La Cruz selected by College of the Liberal Arts to receive funds in dissertation support from RGSO competition

J.J. De La Cruz has been selected by Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts to receive $2,000 in dissertation support from the RGSO competition. J.J. will be using this money to advance their research on interpersonal communication and identity development by surveying LGBTQ+ people about their coming out experiences over the course of several weeks. This dissertation will offer insights into the ways queer people’s identities, perceptions of stigma, and mental health change as a function of communication in coming-out conversations. J.J. will have the opportunity to present the research funded by this grant at the PSU Graduate Exhibition in Spring 2023. Congratulations J.J.!