On Wednesday, October 4, 2023, the Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies celebrated the start of a new academic year with its annual Fall Reception. Faculty, staff, students, and friends of the department gathered in the HUB and caught up after the long summer. Along with reconnecting, the event gave everyone in the department the opportunity to formally welcome our newest graduate students (Dinka Benitez Piraino, Yasmine Gomez, and Liz Zeng), present our Marie Doman Excellence in Teaching Award (Nastasia Paul-Gera, in absentia), and recognize our Alumni Award recipient (Sam Hatzenbeler, '06).