NCF alum Thomas Knight reflects on his experiences as a gay man in academia
Thomas Knight’s hands rested on the steering wheel of his Saab Convertible, but his mind was elsewhere.
As he drove away from Tampa’s International Plaza shopping center in 2003, a fleeting thought developed into a revelation. His reality was suddenly clear. Knight called a good friend and spoke his truth for the first time.
The now 36-year-old UF economics department chair was then a 19-year-old freshman at New College of Florida. From that moment on, his sexual orientation became part of his being.
“It just, at some point, became second nature,” he said. “I have dark curly hair. I’m gay.”
Over the next two years, he shared the news with his friends and three sisters. It wasn’t until three years after the first phone call that he told his parents.
Read the rest of Thomas’ story here.