Second installment of the HerStory “brown bag” speaker series with guest speaker Lizz Forsyth.
By Grace Palazzolo, Aquinas reporter
The attendees of HerStory listening to Forsyth speak – Photo by Amy Dunham Strand, Ph.D
The Aquinas Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (CDI&E) and the Women’s and Gender Studies Center put on the second installment of the HerStory “Brown Bag” Speaker series with guest speaker Lizz Forsyth. This is the seventh season of stories from women in leadership positions in our local community.
The presentation entitled “How I Became Lizz” highlighted her struggles as well as her triumphs. Forsyth is a student here at Aquinas and is an active member of the college community; a majority of her triumphs have benefited students and the college as a whole.
In her early life she struggled with speech delays and as a result she attended a “special school” from ages three to six. There, the teachers tried to get her to talk. She describes herself as “not a normal baby” due to her lack of crying and “never having a first word” until the age of six when she was diagnosed with selective mutism. Forsyth also struggled with asthma so severe she needed a machine to assist with her breathing until the age of eight.
Forsyth recalls a myriad of other childhood “stressors” including physical abuse from her father that resulted in his loss of custody when Forsyth was only ten years of age. Sexual abuse from both her older brother at age six and from a classmate sometime between ages eleven and eighteen, struggles in school including migraines that resulted in her passing out at school, needing to attend speech therapy and difficulty making friends.
“She is a very positive person,” Esperanza Garcia, Student Engagement Coordinator for CDI&E, said. “It is hard to listen to her story, but it is so important.” Throughout her life she has endured hardship; her unwillingness to give in is admirable.
During her time at Aquinas Forsyth founded the Disabled Advocates Saints United (DASU). This club helps bring awareness to disabilities as well as lobbying for more accessibility on campus.
“I really appreciated how Lizz came to Aquinas and saw a need that needed to be filled and took steps to address that need,” said English professor, Dr. Erika Gotfredson. She created an organization that advocates for students with disabilities.”
Savanah Hammock asking Forsyth some icebreaker questions – Photo by Amy Dunham Strand, Ph.D
“Medications may not work for you like they didn’t for me, but there are so many different therapies, and one of them is bound to help,” said Forsyth via email. Forsyth stated during her talk that the medications she was prescribed did not work for her and she needed to find other outlets for her stressors. She enjoys creating sustainable art out of recycled materials such as pistachio shells. She considers this to “be a form of therapy.”
In addition to her sustainable art she is a published author, she wrote “The Adventure Through the Mind of Worry” this book is very clearly a labor of love and source of immense pride for Forsyth.
When asked why she chose to attend this event Dr. Erika Gotfredson, Assistant Professor of English, stated “I think this is just a cool chance to hear women affiliated with the college share their stories,” said Gotfredson. This can be a wonderful opportunity to hear women’s stories, especially those who have had different experiences.
The Aquinas Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (CDI&E) and the Womans & gender studies center host the HerStory series on the first Thursday of the month for three months of the fall semester.
“We have one next month and then in February (next semester) this is a great way to meet faculty and students,” said Esperanza Garcia.
The Saint 