Former NFL player and current LGBTQ advocate Wade Davis shared his amazing story and inspiring message with the Sewickley Academy community on April 16, 2014. He spoke about his journey through an extremely religious childhood, his dream of playing for the NFL, his 20 plus years of silence about being gay, and his current work with LGBTQ youth.

Wade met with Senior School students and members of the Academy’s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) to talk about how LGBTQ initiatives and conversations could become more mainstream and present in the culture of schools. Wade talked about his personal experiences in high school, being the bully and not the bullied, as a way to deflect attention away from himself in regards to his sexual orientation, and how that particular part of his life now fuels the work he does with LGBTQ youth. Students came away from the session with some specific ideas to expand their GSA initiatives, including partnering with GSAs from other schools and expanding membership of the Academy’s GSA to include coaches and more student-athletes.