Name: Martin Casiano
Class/Degree: A&S 2015
Major: Communication
Current Occupation: Marketing
Where do you currently reside: San Francisco, CA
Married/Single/Children: Single
When did you come out and to whom? I never did a formal coming out. I saw the rainbow flag at the student involvement day fair my freshmen year at BC, joined the GLBTQ Leadership Council (GLC), and lived as an out gay person from there.
What is your greatest memory from your time at BC? GLC created a freshmen leadership program for queer and ally students that I led and the freshmen participants were able to secure Lavern Cox as a guest speaker on-campus. The newly constructed Stokes Hall auditorium was completely packed with students who came to listen to Lavern speak, so much so that folks were standing outside the doorways to listen into the event. It was a proud moment for me to see the freshmen execute such an incredible event and to bring trans visibility to campus.
What is your greatest accomplishment since graduating? I am a first generation college student and also the first in my family to build a career in corporate America. My greatest accomplishment since graduating has been navigating the corporate world of which I had no real context of and where I have often been the only queer person of color in the space and thriving having had the opportunity to work at various large global companies.
What traits do you most admire? Compassion and resilience.
What are your pet peeves? General inconsiderateness, I think we should all show some level of care for each other.
What is a little-known fact about you? I am a pretty open book so not much, but since this the BC context I don’t think many know I am a Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholarship recipient which is a pretty competitive scholarship that helped fund my BC tuition.
If you could invite one person to have dinner and conversation with you, who would you invite? Lady Gaga! She is an icon, a legend, and an artist like no other.
What do you feel you gain by being connected with your LGBTQ+ classmates? Some of my best friends today are fellow LGBTQ+ BC classmates and will be lifelong friendships. The LGBTQ+ Alumni Council has made it so I can expand that connection to fellow LGBTQ+ Eagles even further. It was has been great to connect with so many alumni I have not met before at Council events to expand my professional and personal network.
What would you like to accomplish before it’s too late? I would like to run for public office one day so I can hold a leadership position that affords me the opportunity to advocate for vulnerable communities.