Alumni Profiles
Court Young ’01
“I can honestly say that my three years at Crossroads laid the foundation for my journey toward self-identity and self-love.”
“Lunch in the Alley will forever hold a place in my heart,” said Court Young ’01. “The music and the laughs with faculty and my peers was a vibe. This is one of my first memories of the power of community.”
Community remains central in both Court’s life and work as a host homes coordinator at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Court explained, “I work for the world’s largest provider of programs and services for LGBT people, which offers countless opportunities to give back.“ Court is also the founder of YOUNGBLOOD MFG Co., a brand that combines their love for photography, mid-century design, basketball, typography, color and fashion.
Court, who uses the pronouns they/them, describes their journey since high school as “finding home in my body as a 6-foot tall, mixed-race, afro-rocking, tattooed, nonbinary, queer human being. There were times in my life where it felt difficult to look at myself in the mirror, because I didn’t feel like my reflection was how I felt in my mind, body and soul. My reflection became daunting. Thankfully, that time was kind of running parallel to seeing more representation in the media and more nonbinary/trans folks being included in conversations around gender and identity. I started my own transition three years ago. Today, my reflection has never been clearer. Looking in the mirror never made as much sense as it does today. I legit have moments multiple times a day when I smile and tell myself I am proud of me.”
Court attended Crossroads for grades eight through 10 before moving to Ventura. They shared that the School was “one of the first times I experienced feeling supported, celebrated and, most importantly, encouraged to be me. I can honestly say that my three years at Crossroads laid the foundation for my journey toward self-identity and self-love.”
“Our intentions should be to make this world equitable for every single person: a world in which we are not only celebrated for our unique identities, but, most importantly, celebrated for whom we choose to be and how we choose to share ourselves with our communities and the world at large.”
