CHSS Alumni Spotlight: Alex Goode

By Maribeth Wagganer

Alex Goode graduated from Webster in 2023. He majored in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and minored in Psychology.

For his first semester in college, Goode started out as a Psychology major. He enjoyed the classes, but he felt like there was something missing. He looked for an alternative and took a gender studies class, which is when he was able to find a subject matter that he connected with, and wanted to learn more about feminism. Thus, Goode changed his major to Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and minored in Psychology.

During his undergraduate degree, Goode wrote a paper about intimate partner violence in the transgender community. The paper examined the issues, distrust and fear that transgender victims face when speaking to the police, and how policy initiatives are not helpful or beneficial to the transgender community. The paper suggested providing resources to support the victims, find options for them to separate from the perpetrator and bolster community support. This would provide safety and trust within the communities to prevent domestic violence against transgender people.

Through writing this paper, Goode was able to advocate for the transgender community who are experiencing intimate partner violence. He also participated in a research project his senior year at Webster. He wrote a literature review, went through the Institutional Review Board approval process and recruited participants to interview.

After he graduated, Goode continued his work by transcribing and coding the interviews and writing up his findings. After the experience of writing a literature review and conducting a research study, Goode has become interested in attending graduate school to expand his knowledge about research and getting the chance to advocate for others. 

Goode would like to thank a couple of professors who helped him throughout his undergraduate journey - Dr. Kate Parsons, who was his academic advisor and assisted him in his course work; and Dr. Alison Gorga who advised his research project and helped him through the process of enrolling in graduate school. And finally, Rosemarie Jones, an adjunct professor, taught material about intimate partner violence. This subject had a significant impact on Goode because it showed him a holistic perspective on how it can impact a person. She also demonstrated empathy, support and kindness toward Goode, which made an emotional impact on him. Goode is planning to apply to Sociology PhD programs, with a research focus on social movements.