COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT SERIES
Highlighting queer voices and those walking alongside them to build a more open, kind, and connected Zionsville.
Zionsville is full of voices worth hearing. The Community Spotlight Series highlights queer people—and those helping build a more inclusive community—through personal stories, reflections, and moments of connection.
Know someone we should spotlight? Send us a message—we’d love to hear from you.
Sydny Miller
SM: Hi. My name is Sydny. I am a nonbinary lesbian who is also on the aroace [aromantic asexual] spectrum.
EP: Me too!
SM: There’s so many different [labels], but nonbinary lesbian on the aroace spectrum is generally what I always go with. I always have lesbian memorabilia on me at all times.
EP: They [her bracelets] match your nails, too.
SM: Yeah. So, fun fact about the nails. My mother does my nails. And, like, I never officially ever came out to my parents. I feel like it's obvious, but I never came out to them. And so I was trying to tell her these colors without being like, it's the lesbian flag colors.
EP: Yeah.
SM: And then I was showing her different designs. She's like, okay, well, what specifically? And I was like, I can't tell you that. I want the lesbian flag design.
EP: Yeah.
Kae Nielson
EP: All right. Hello. Go ahead and introduce yourself to the world.
KN: Hi, I'm Kae Nielson. I use they/them pronouns. I'm 20.
EP: Congratulations.
KN: Oh, thanks.
EP: What's your connection to the queer community?
KN: I identify as nonbinary and queer, as a loose sense.
EP: Yeah, it's a good umbrella label. Are you comfortable telling us when you realized you were queer?
KN: Sure. Yeah. I had a bit of a backwards journey. I actually started in, well, in sophomore year, I kind of realized that I was not cis[gender]. I started with demi-girl and decided it didn't really quite fit. So then I decided I was nonbinary. And then after that I kind of went, oh, wait a second. I also like women. That was around the same time.
But, you know, there are things that I'm looking back, like, I should have known. I totally had a crush on a girl in sixth grade because I was thinking about kissing her.
Percy Lee
EP: Go ahead and introduce yourself.
My name is Percy. Percy Lee. I use any pronouns. I'm queer.
EP: Yeah. Tell me about your connection to the queer community.
PL: When I was in, like, middle school I think, my older brother came out as gay. So I was like, well, that's great for him. I don't know what that means. And I didn't consider that it was different. I guess I was just like, you know, everyone has a gay brother. That's a thing. And then I was like, well, maybe, maybe that's not just him. And so I was like, oh, I guess I like men and women And you know what? That's life. And now I've actually considered it. I know what being gay is now.