Marching to an Inclusive Beat: William James College Rainbow Alliance Joins Boston Pride for the People

After closing the books on another successful academic year, Rylan Guthrie and Nicola Hassapis are feeling particularly proud—and for good reason. On Saturday, June 14, the co-leaders of the Rainbow Alliance were among two dozen folks who turned up to celebrate the rich diversity, culture, and intersectionality of the LGBTQIA+ community by marching behind the William James College banner in the Boston Pride for the People Parade.

 “It was a real showing of solidarity,” says Hassapis, underscoring the unlikely marriage of celebration and protest evident in the almost one million folks who took to the streets and raised their voices about issues that matter.

 “In a world where the LGBTQIA+ community is consistently being silenced and pushed aside, it was an act of bravery for everyone who showed up,” says Guthrie, calling the College’s ardent support for and representation of the Rainbow Alliance a huge win. 

NICHE FOCUS

Given countless options for graduate school in Greater Boston, both Guthrie and Hassapis were drawn to William James College for the same reason: the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program; an opportunity to enroll in the Forensic and Correctional Counseling area of emphasis sealed the deal. 

“William James College opened the door to a fascinating field by offering options I didn’t even know existed,” says Guthrie, a 2025 graduate of the CMHC program and member of the Leaders in Diversity and Resilience Fellowship Program. Guthrie, who grew up in Washington D.C. and earned a degree in psychology from Southern Oregon University, cites Kaitlyn Peretti, PsyD, Director, Forensic and Correctional Counseling Area of Emphasis, as providing invaluable opportunities—from attending conferences to visiting every prison in the state—that solidified Guthrie’s passion for working with individuals impacted by the criminal justice system. 

“As a mental health professional who has chosen to work with marginalized populations, I feel a huge sense of responsibility,” says Guthrie, whose clientele spans members of the queer community to incarcerated individuals at MCI-Framingham, a medium security correctional facility for women. Looking ahead, they plan to put their degree to work advocating for and providing individual counseling to folks involved in the criminal justice system in the United Kingdom.

For Hassapis, counseling will be a second career. After earning a BS in print and multimedia communications from Emerson College—and working in the corporate world for a decade—a volunteer opportunity at The Trevor Project sparked a career change. 

“After several years spent supporting LGBTQIA+ youth at risk of harming themselves, I realized that my work as a volunteer crisis counselor was the most fulfilling part of my week,” recalls Hassapis who quickly pivoted. As luck would have it, William James College is the only program that met all of their preferences—for part-time, in-person learning—coupled with a forensics emphasis and LGBTQIA+ Studies concentration; they are on track to graduate in June 2026.

BUILDING COMMUNITY 

Leading the Rainbow Alliance has been integral to both students’ experience on campus. Over the past year, the pair hosted a meet-and-greet to kick off the fall term; held a post-election processing event; organized a virtual memorial on Trans Day of Remembrance; and gathered to write notes of encouragement to trans youth experiencing barriers accessing healthcare. Sensing a need, Guthrie and Hassapis also spearheaded gatherings to support folks who fall under the trans and gender nonconforming umbrella.

“In light of pervasive fear and political unrest, creating a place of safety and understanding—to openly discuss all that’s going on in the world—was a top priority,” says Guthrie of the Rainbow Alliance's efforts to address isolation among folks juggling personal, professional, and academic responsibilities. Creating opportunities for joyful outreach and genuine connection have been well received.

 “A lot of the time, people feel they are the only one—particularly if they are the only person to hold their identity in a physical location or local community—which is why seeing and acknowledging one another is so important,” says Hassapis who will return to their post as co-head of the Rainbow Alliance in September.

MARCHING ON

As marginalized communities remain under attack in real time, Hassapis remains hopeful. Research from The Trevor Project indicates that among LGBTQIA+ youth who report having one supportive adult in their lives, the rate of suicide risk drops by 40% when compared with peers who lack an accepting adult. 

“Each day, we must move forward,” says Hassapis, reiterating the importance of person-based counseling, a sentiment with which Guthrie concurs. 

“The personal is political, even though we don’t always choose for it to be,” says Guthrie, acknowledging their privilege as a white person with a master’s degree, underscoring how society often works. 

“Pride began as a protest,” they added, pointing to similar movements—from civil and women’s to trans rights—all of which started with a select few pushing against the system, and the rules, in order to combat ignorance. 

From their perspective, this is what happened outside Trinity Church in Copley Square when students, faculty, and staff—wearing rainbow themed t-shirts, donated by the College— traversed the crowd of cheering spectators enroute to the Boston Common. As they began the two-mile trek, a circa 2000 graduate of William James College emerged from the crowd and asked to join, not because she identified as queer but because she saw an opportunity for connection.

“Whether folks are part of the community or not, Boston Pride for the People allowed spectators to see parts of themselves reflected in the participants, whether they knew it or not,” says Guthrie, drawing a tangible example. 

“Kids in the crowd looked to us, and the possibility of college and a career in mental health, and they saw a glimpse of the future.” 

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