Chase Sutton: A Profile in Pride

By Claudia Davila, Program Coordinator – ASUA Student Government

Chase Sutton is currently a sophomore at the University of Arizona. He has been very involved since he arrived on campus in the fall of 2006. Chase has taken an active role in the university community. In addition to being a Resident Assistant at Sky View Apartments this fall semester, he has been a member of numerous clubs including: Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity. Human Rights Campaign "HRC" and Pride Alliance Co-Director. His contributions to the university are especially notable through his varies commitments on campus.

Chase chose the university in large part for what he wanted to study. In addition, he wanted to be near his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, yet being able to be on his own. While living in the residence halls his freshmen year, he met a lot of great people and friends. He experience first hand how that sense of community helped him in his course work and other areas of his life. Experiencing that sense of community motivated him to become Residence Assistance this upcoming fall.

Chase currently serves as the Pride Alliance Co-Director. The ASUA Pride Alliance strives to maintain a resource center that offers a safe, supportive social and academic environment to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning as well as straight ally students and the surrounding community. Furthermore, Pride is committed to fostering a safe and supportive environment in the surrounding community so that LGBTQ students can thrive at the University of Arizona. He enjoys working and interacting on daily basis with the diverse population of students. One of the goals of Pride Alliance is to strive to interact and program with as many of the GLBTQ organizations on and off campus. Working with these other organizations would allow Pride to make a bigger impact on the campus and for its students.

The primary reason Chase became involved with such an array of organizations is that he considers himself a very involved person and feels that giving back to the campus is essential in his development. His involvement with ASUA and Alpha Phi Omega and now Pride Alliance has allowed him to find a place on campus to meet new people and experience everything that the UA has to offer him.

Chase's advise for incoming and continuing students it so get involved on campus. There are so many opportunities for news students to get involved in something on campus the list is endless. Every fall and spring there is a club fair to see what is available, most clubs have a list-serve that email members of upcoming events. It is important for students to make connections with other students, their Resident Assistants, intramurals, advisors, other club members, faculty and staff. There are plenty of opportunities on campus to get involved in; it’s the matter of getting out there and looking for the opportunities that await you.

Claudia Davila can be contacted via email at Claudia@u.arizona.edu
Pride Alliance can be found on the internet at: http://pride.asua.arizona.edu/