Stephanie Skora · Voices of Illinois · University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library

Title: Stephanie Skora
Date(s): 04/10/2026
Interviewee(s): Stephanie Skora See all items with this value
Interviewer(s): Janina Lörinczi See all items with this value
Interviewer Position: Student in GWS 467: Locating Queer Culture.
Summary: To access this interview, please contact the Student Life and Culture Archives at illiarch@illinois.edu

Stephanie Skora, founder of the Campus Union for Trans Equality and Support (CUTES) discusses her experience coming out as trans during her freshman year at UIUC and the feeling of isolation she encountered due to the complete lack of spaces for trans and gender-nonconforming people on campus at that time. She emphasizes how this disorientation she experienced led her to found CUTES as a safe space for trans people to meet each other and build community. Alongside her work with CUTES, Stephanie was highly engaged in progressive student activist movements, such as Black Lives Matter, Palestinian Solidarity, and demands for Indigenous rights. Today, Stephanie lives in Chicago and works in civic education centered around voting rights, anti-racism, anti-Zionism, and trans advocacy.
Language: English
Subject(s): activism See all items with this value; alumni See all items with this value; campus union for trans equality and support See all items with this value; queer students See all items with this value; transgender See all items with this value
Related Resources: Campus Union for Trans Equality and Support (CUTES) Records (RS: 41/66/109); Social Movements at Illinois: LGBTQ+ Rights; Steven Salaita Controversy Index and Reference File (RS: 35/3/89); Support Salaita Records (RS: 41/66/110)

Item sets: Locating Queer Culture