Nick Sheaffer
Photo Editor, Alphabet SoupNick Sheaffer is the photo editor for KBIA's Alphabet Soup. He graduated with a Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of Missouri in May 2024.
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Mace Hoover is a 25-year-old trans man, as well as a former teacher. He spoke about how he supported his students during that time, but also about how they have supported and inspired him. -
Sarah Mosteller is a lesbian in her early 20s. She spoke about how she came out somewhat unexpectedly in her teens, and about how her church community reacted. -
Cynthia Martin grew up and still lives in very rural Missouri. She’s a transgender woman that began transitioning later in life – as she approached 40. She spoke about some of the challenges she’s faced and about her hopes for her future. -
Husbands Jeff Terry and Travis Griffin live in Jefferson City. They spoke about their long and sometimes complicated relationships with God and about the joys of finding a supportive faith community. -
Sophie Freeman is a queer woman who grew up in a very small, rural conservative town in the Missouri Bootheel who spoke about how she's found a supportive family of her own since coming out. -
Wives Rosie Geiser and Dottie Mathews are in both in their 70s and have been together since the 1990s. They spoke about the importance of faith in their lives and in their relationship. -
Jane Lavender and Hudson Giles-Lavender have been together for decades and were legally married in 2015. They spoke about how they find joy and happiness – even in the face of negativity and political uncertainty. -
Kat and Aly Wright are a queer married couple in Columbia. Kat is queer and nonbinary, and Aly is a bisexual transgender woman. They spoke about their different – yet overlapping – journeys with gender and how they’ve supported each other along the way. -
![Willow Wilson sits on a chair in her living room on Friday, April 5, 2024, at her apartment in Columbia. When Wilson was selecting her name, she said she originally had nearly 100 names to choose from on a Word document. For a while, Wilson said she almost committed to the name “Rumor” because it had a “cool, sultry” and “femme fatale” feel. “But I eventually settled on the Willow just because I think Willow Wilson is such a distinctive name,” Wilson said. “It's kind of like [a] Peter Parker, Clark Kent kind of vibe. … Not to sound too egotistical, but that is a very main character name, and I kind of liked that. And I liked that it was very earthy and crunchy and kind of, you know, hippie, a little bit. So, I think Willow was kind of like, where I was like, ‘Yeah, I like that: Willow Wilson.’ That definitely sounds like a lady who's about town and making the most of her life.”](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a50fa5a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1750x975+0+0/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F41%2F05%2F730cbb9e4211a4e6e37f185c7caf%2F20240405-bas-queer-joy-willow-wilson-0019.jpg)
Willow Wilson is a transgender woman in her mid-20s. She spoke about the role that Dungeons & Dragons has played in her transition. -
Dani Emma Devine and Cheryl Barbero are girlfriends in their mid-60s. Dani is a transgender lesbian and Cheryl is pansexual. They spoke about Dani deciding to take action and transition later in life.
![Willow Wilson sits on a chair in her living room on Friday, April 5, 2024, at her apartment in Columbia. When Wilson was selecting her name, she said she originally had nearly 100 names to choose from on a Word document. For a while, Wilson said she almost committed to the name “Rumor” because it had a “cool, sultry” and “femme fatale” feel. “But I eventually settled on the Willow just because I think Willow Wilson is such a distinctive name,” Wilson said. “It's kind of like [a] Peter Parker, Clark Kent kind of vibe. … Not to sound too egotistical, but that is a very main character name, and I kind of liked that. And I liked that it was very earthy and crunchy and kind of, you know, hippie, a little bit. So, I think Willow was kind of like, where I was like, ‘Yeah, I like that: Willow Wilson.’ That definitely sounds like a lady who's about town and making the most of her life.”](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bcc3008/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1750x975+0+0/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F41%2F05%2F730cbb9e4211a4e6e37f185c7caf%2F20240405-bas-queer-joy-willow-wilson-0019.jpg)
