Meet Caleb Sargent, a CSU graduate intern with LGBTQ+ Student Services.

Sargent is a Licensed Social Worker and current Master of Social Work. He earned his Bachelor of Social Work at the University of Akron, completing his field placement at Equitas Health, an HIV+ case management and LGBTQ+ advocacy non-profit.

As an intern with LGBTQ+ Student Services, Sargent is offering individual case management and service coordination for LGBTQ+ students. He can talk with students about LGBTQ+ specific issues like coming out or gender dysphoria, or help connect them to resources for mental health support or social support.

“Some students may need help accessing basic needs, such as food and housing,” Sargent said. “Or students may be facing discrimination on campus and are unsure of how to address it."

"For many students, it could just be having someone to talk to that is LGBTQ+ and trained in mental health interventions," Sargent said. "Whatever the student needs, we are here for them."

LGBTQ+ Student Services at Cleveland State is committed to enhancing the overall educational and social experience of the CSU community. 

It provides resources, support, and programming that promotes the academic and personal growth and development of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (+) students and their allies, and work to create a more inclusive and welcoming campus for all.

 As soon as Sargent started interning at CSU he had big plans to help support LGBTQ+ students. 

“There were two main initiatives I wanted to start when I applied for this job at CSU,” Sargent said. “The first is getting us on the Campus Pride Index with appropriate, high-scoring policies, and the second is this Student Support Program."

Sargent's past is what really made him want to help other LGBTQ students and make them feel just as important as everyone else. 

“I come from a small, conservative, and homophobic town before I started my undergrad in Akron,” Sargent said. “I wasn't even out, but received sexual harassment and discrimination just for perception that I could be queer. When I moved to college, the environment was so much more accepting."

So when Sargent received the opportunity to help CSU, he made LGBTQ+ student support his main priority.

“When I got the chance to build on the services here at CSU, access to mental health support, specifically for LGBTQ+ students, was one of my main goals,” Sargent said. 

As an undergrad Sargent did other volunteer work in the LGBTQ+ community as well. 

“During my undergrad, I was at Equitas Health, this is an agency that worked with primarily LGBTQ+ people who have HIV and were under a certain income level,” Sargent said. “I was responsible for helping them gain access to resources [like housing, food and medical treatment] along with providing mental health support.”

Students can reach Sargent at lgbtqintern1@csuohio.edu 

He will be more than happy to talk or help with anything. His personal interests include playing instruments, fitness, Twin Peaks, and plant-based cooking. He also has three cats: Soup, Tofu, and Yoshi.