Spotlights

Spotlight: Celebrating National Coming Out Day with Gabe Kennedy

At Amergis Healthcare Staffing, our team members are at the heart of everything we do. Each month, our Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) board highlights stories of Amergis employees who demonstrate our core values and commitment to connecting people to work that matters.

About National Coming Out Day

Every year on October 11^th we celebrate National Coming Out Day to honor the courage it takes to live openly and authentically. First observed in 1988 on the anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, this day celebrates the importance of creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ individuals to share their stories. It also encourages the sharing of resource guides and information to people who are coming out or those interested in understanding the journey. Our D&I team spoke with Gabe Kennedy about coming out and the meaning of National Coming Out Day.

Gabe’s Coming Out Journey

Can you tell us more about your role, what you do, and how you joined Amergis?

I am currently working as a FSS III for the Business Lines team (Amergis Locum Tenens and Rev Cycle) I was originally on a team in the Tampa Hub but was lent out to the Business Lines team to assist and ending up loving it and asked to stay. Most of my days are working with 1099 contractors and doctors. I joined Amergis because the wonderful human, Daryl Williams (T&E), knew me from a sports league we were a part of and saw a Facebook post about how I desperately wanted out of my current job and he recommended me to Amergis.

Can you share a bit about your coming out journey?

So my coming out journey is like a rollercoaster, in high school when I was still identifying as a woman I came out as bisexual. Being queer did not exactly make me popular and I spent a lot of time struggling with who I am. When I graduated high school I came out as a lesbian since I really only had romantic interest in women but that still did not feel right but it was close enough at the time. It wasn’t until my late 20’s that I learned more about non-binary identities and it sounded similar to what I was feeling. I had amazing friends at the time and they were willing to try out a new name for me and use they/them for my pronouns so I could see if that felt right. Because of them I was able to find myself and who I really am without the pressure of society telling me who I should be. In my early 30’s I finally came out as a bisexual transman and I have never felt more whole.

What does National Coming Out Day mean to you?

National Coming Out Day, to me, helps create a safe space for people who don’t know what they are feeling. In a way it can take something that is terrifying and unknown and turn it into a celebration of someone living their most authentic life and letting others see.

How has your identity shaped your personal or professional life?

I would say personally being all sorts of queer throughout my life has really set the bar for what I appreciate in friendships. It has made me see that a real friendship would not make me feel like a “burden” or like I am “too much” by just trying to figure out who I am. I have come to form some amazing bonds with some amazing people that I trust more than anything in this world. Professionally has been scarier; the fear of being a burden is heavy in my mind sometimes when I expect to be accepted for who I am, but I have been lucky and had some amazing managers that helped to create safe spaces for me.

What have you learned about yourself through the process of coming out?

I have learned so much but mainly that no matter how much I want to take the “easy” road or how much I wish my circumstances could be different, unless I am living authentically and being honest with myself nothing will fill that hole. When I first got sober in 2019 and realized that I was not Cis I was livid. I remember thinking that “Why now? I finally have a grip on my life and now I HAVE to go through this!?” It was never a choice to be who I am, it was a choice to be honest with myself and others and once you know the truth it is impossible to ignore it.

Thank you, Gabe, for sharing your story and helping us foster a more inclusive and understanding workplace.

Join the Amergis Healthcare Staffing Team

Amergis Staffing always has a wide range of available opportunities for people who want to accelerate their careers. We embrace employees from all backgrounds and follow our core values to foster a welcoming work environment:

• Promoting diversity and inclusion
• Winning with integrity and trust
• Prioritizing quality
• Investing in development
• Championing innovation
• Driving for results

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