Franco Saucedo was impressed by this new way of thinking: “Back in Bolivia, we were never encouraged to think about gender and sexual diversity in a sociopolitical context.” It was here that he was introduced to queer theory - a field of critical study that challenges heteronormativity by redefining gender and sexuality as fluid, rather than fixed, social identities. “The books we read and the topics we discussed were truly eye-opening,” Franco Saucedo says. He singles out one class as particularly transformative: Sexual Identity and Culture (LIT 369), a literature course with Assistant Professor Traci Abbott. “My courses encouraged such deep critical thinking and diversity of thought,” he says, “that I began questioning my own deeply ingrained beliefs.” In addition to forging a strong social network, Franco Saucedo was deeply influenced by what he learned in his Bentley classrooms. Through his involvement with the International Student Association, Student Government Association and PRIDE, an organization serving and supporting the LGBTQ+ community, Franco Saucedo was able to connect with like-minded peers whose encouragement helped him “feel comfortable in my own skin.” He credits Bentley’s diverse and welcoming campus community as a major reason why. As a result, Franco Saucedo says, he was always conscious of how his actions could be perceived by others - an awareness that produced what he calls a “profound identity conflict” between his personal and cultural beliefs.Īfter four years in the U.S., however, Franco Saucedo has largely resolved those tensions though he admits that “some American cultural spaces still feel foreign to me,” he feels more at peace here than in Bolivia. “Latin American society is very conservative and traditional,” he says of his upbringing, noting that while his three sisters have always been supportive, Bolivian culture has long stigmatized gender and sexual diversity. When Eduardo “Edu” Franco Saucedo ’22 received his Bentley diploma this May, he graduated with something he considers even more valuable than his degree in Finance and Liberal Studies: Global Perspectives: the ability “to live as my truly authentic self, fully comfortable with my sexuality.” It’s a hard-won realization he attributes as much to his scholarship as his social circle.īorn and raised in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Franco Saucedo admits the road to self-actualization hasn’t been easy.

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