Fairfax High School senior Alin Freitag believes that one of the best ways to promote peace is to show respect for the gender and relationship choices of fellow students by the day-to-day use of their self-selected inclusive pronouns – like he, him, she, her, they and their.

By his junior year Alin understood the struggles of LGBTQ+ students. From personal experience he knew how stressful it was to constantly have to ask for recognition of his chosen gender. “If you have to correct people all the time, it takes a toll on you. It’s exhausting,” explains Alin. “You are already fighting every day. Not every kid has the luxury of being respected in their own house.”

Through various meetings and classes, Ms. Safran, a teacher, recognized Alin’s leadership potential and nominated him to represent his school in a new county program called Student Equity Ambassador Leaders (SEALs). As part of SEALs, Alin chose to advocate for queer issues, but he asked himself, “in what way?”

Alin knew that many teachers use Google forms. He designed a simple, short form for use in school that included prompts to indicate a student’s pronoun preferences, both in school and at home. Working with his SEAL “equity lead,” Alin shared the newly designed form with a handful of teachers, who adapted it to their needs and began using it in their classes.

Alin was also invited to present virtually to a larger group of schoolteachers and equity committee members about LGBTQ+ issues and how inclusive language can strengthen the school community. His efforts snowballed from there.

By September of his senior year, the form was included in teachers’ beginning of the year forms for his school and its use is considered a success. Students report feeling encouraged to see it widely used in many of their classes. Alin continues to work closely with the equity leads at his school, seeking new ways to make an impact.

“My whole life is always about trying to help other people,” Alin reflected.  “Inclusive forms and language are a way to help people in a small but meaningful way. It’s a way to help people feel respected in the way that they deserve.”

Alin looks forward to preparing for a career in social work in college starting this fall.