Orlando’s annual Come Out With Pride Festival and Parade recently swept the streets surrounding downtown Orlando's Lake Eola Park for a daylong celebration of the area's LGBTQIA+ community. Full Sail University students, faculty, and staff were proud to join in the festivities and represent the university’s diverse community at the annual celebration.

Fifty Full Sail students, faculty, and staff members marched in the parade behind a large Full Sail banner while proudly wearing university-branded Pride t-shirts designed by Chad Guyot of Full Sail's Staff & Cultural Development department.

“To see several colleges and universities walk by in the parade means so much to parents and potential students and shows them that Full Sail is a safe space for their student,” shares Jen West, an Events Management Specialist with Staff & Cultural Development.

Full Sail community members walking in the annual Come Out With Pride parade.

“Visibility matters and having your school or workplace show up to this kind of event shows that they care about you both personally and professionally. A student picked up their shirt and was so excited to tell me that this is her first Pride event and how safe it feels for her to attend with her school,” says Jen. “For her to feel safe and comfortable in being herself because of the support of her school is why participating in events like this matters.”

Students studying media communications at Full Sail also got involved by putting their content-creation skills to work covering the day’s events alongside instructor and local creator Emily Wray. Taking photos and editing videos, the student crew produced recaps of the day while gaining valuable experience in event coverage.

Boasting over 200,000 attendees, Come Out With Pride Orlando celebrates LGBTQIA+ life, culture, and community and includes live performances and entertainment, food trucks, a local vendor marketplace, and more.