Reclaiming Space, Jamie Fleshman Discusses Pride and Representation

Continuing with our celebration of Pride Month, we had the opportunity to discuss what this month means to 2021 Tillman Scholar Jamie Fleshman.

Inspired by the faraway, dreamy look in her Navy veteran mother’s eyes when she talked about her days of service, Jamie enlisted in the Navy after high school in pursuit of the same feeling. Jamie served as a Mandarin Chinese linguist for eight years, working for both the Navy and National Security Agency on missions aimed at protecting our nation’s flying forces and Pacific assets.

Jamie’s personal experience as a queer-identified woman in a time of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has inspired her work of helping to address healthcare disparities disproportionately affecting the LGBTQIA+ community. She does this currently through the development of educational programming for physical therapy students and faculty that gives voice and perspective to the struggle of LGBTQIA+ individuals.

Check out her video on Pride and representation below!