Mathew Graham (he/him) joined the ORICE team as a Program Assistant in the summer of 2024. He is currently a student studying for a B.A. Degree in Sociology with Honours standing. In his personal research, he observes how gay men are portrayed in Canadian news outlets in relation to public health stories. This research was presented at several conferences including the 2024 Canadian Sociological Association (CSA) Conference, and won best presentation at the UBC Sociological Undergraduate Research Conference (SURC) in 2024. His research and academic interests are centered in queer identity; sociology of health; political sociology; and Canadian history, identities, and society. Through his studies and research he hopes to develop better understanding of how queer folk’s positionality and personal identities interact with the spaces they live in and the history preceding them. Moreover, he hopes to extend his experience in community fieldwork to the projects at the ORICE. Alongside his position at ORICE, Mathew is a Teaching Assistant at UBC who enjoys helping students develop a better understanding of sociological topics. In his free time, Mathew loves to go for runs, practice yoga, read lots of literary fiction, and paint his nails.