Tag: eQual

Chris Stafford Reignites MBA at Houston eQual to Foster Community for LGBTQ+ Students

Written by Meena Anderson

Chris Stafford, MBA at Houston Class of 2024, is reigniting the Weekend MBA program’s eQual chapter, an organization aimed at fostering community and solidarity among LGBTQ+ MBA students. 

“When I started the Fall semester in Houston, I learned that eQual Houston had fizzled away during COVID-19 and needed fresh blood to give it a restart,” Chris says. “I know how important it is for community engagement and representation both internally and externally. I think it’s really important to have LGBTQ+ representation in the program and also for students to get involved in the local LGBTQ+ community.”

Alongside completing his MBA, Chris is employed at ExxonMobil. Prior to his MBA journey, he graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in 2010 and served as an Officer in the Navy Reserves. 

Photo of chris in his navy uniform standing outside of a navy hospital ship.

Chris during his time in the Navy Reserve in 2011.

“The ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ policy (DADT) was still in place while I was a Midshipman at USMMA and for the beginning part of my time as an Officer in the Reserves, this policy required that I keep my identity as a gay man a secret and live my life ‘in the closet,’” Chris says. “I actually wrote my admissions essay to McCombs about the repeal of DADT and how it shaped my career. Serving under the DADT policy was not easy and surely presented lots of obstacles, but I am a stronger person for it.”

Photo of chris and his husband kissing at their wedding.

Chris and his husband, Tyler, kiss during their wedding.

Chris says his background in maritime operations and trading influenced his decision to apply to the Weekend MBA at Houston program.

“I really want to grow my business acumen and enhance my understanding of different aspects of business that I have yet to be exposed to. My employer is very supportive of me getting my MBA and I am really hoping to bring back to the office what I am learning at McCombs,” he says. “When trying to decide on where to go for my MBA, there were a few options locally here in Houston I was considering. I wanted a strong academic program with a large network, great reputation and prestige and a big school atmosphere.”

After settling in at the program, Chris and his classmates got in contact with the Dallas and Austin chapters of eQual, who were instrumental in helping reboot the organization for the Houston program.

“We plan to link up with both Austin and Dallas eQual groups more in the future and try to host some joint events,”  Chris says. “We announced to our classmates on National Coming Out Day that eQual was back and that started the buzz. We had significant interest and were super excited to get it going.”

For the future of Houston’s eQual endeavors, Chris and other organizers in the group plan to engage with the local community and increase awareness about topics of diversity and inclusion.

Chris and his husband hold up a rainbow pride flag

Chris and Tyler pose with a rainbow Pride flag at Cross Fit.

“We plan to get involved in local philanthropic and volunteer endeavors, for example the Houston Pride Parade and Montrose Center,” he says. “We plan to bring in guest speakers to speak to eQual about inclusion and diversity in the workplace, and hopefully get local executives that identify as LGBTQ+ to speak to our cohorts about their experiences in the corporate world.”

Ultimately, Chris’ goal is to uplift and support the McCombs — and extended — LGBTQ+ community in both the corporate world and their academic ventures.

“Our main goal is to be a voice for the students in the Houston MBA program, especially those of us that identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community and our allies. We strive to protect and promote an inclusive and safe environment and celebrate diversity in all forms within the program. We want to leverage LGBTQ+ alumni to help mentor and recruit students that are a part of the eQual group, as well as act as a recruiting tool for the admission team to continue to admit diverse classes in the future.”


Visit Texas McCombs MBA to learn more about our programs and upcoming events, or take a peek into student life on Instagram. Please reach out to the MBA Admissions Team with any questions.

Hook ’em!

Celebrating Pride with eQual MBAs at McCombs

Happy Pride Month! This June we are celebrating members of our LGBTQIA+ MBA community and talking to Full-Time MBA student Lindsey Scheinthal, co-president of eQual MBAs, about pronouns, allyship, and living authentically.

eQual MBAs at McCombs is a social and career networking student organization made up of members, friends, and supporters of the LGBTQ+ community. They are dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion within the Texas McCombs community.

Members of eQUAL on a zoom meeting

Members of eQUAL pose for a picture during a Zoom meeting.

Representation and Allyship 

eQual focuses a lot on educating people on pronoun usage and allyship by hosting workshops throughout the year to create a more inclusive environment. Since moving into the virtual space, members of eQual have advocated for adding pronouns to Zoom names. Even if you are cisgender (meaning you identify as the gender assigned at birth), adding pronouns to your bios, zoom names, or email signatures signifies that you are an ally and makes others feel included.

“For me, representation is everything. I believe it saves lives and makes people know that they are not alone.” says Lindsey. “I think that’s really important for all of us because when you have more representation you’re able to implement everything else a little bit easier.”

Inclusion and acceptance from others means a lot to Lindsey. She says she sometimes wonders if people know she’s gay and would accept her if they knew.

“My favorite thing is seeing people wear the eQual t-shirt with the rainbow longhorn,” says Lindsey. “You know, we just make assumptions about people…[you think] that person might not like me because I’m gay, and I’m nervous to say something. But then I go to class the next day and they’re rocking the eQual t-shirt, and how great of a feeling that is to see them wearing it.”

There is no way to be a perfect ally, Lindsay says. To her, it’s someone who is asking questions and is pushing themselves to continuously learn and be better.

“Everyone has a different idea of what an ally looks like, and I think it’s difficult to be the perfect ally. But I think as long as you’re trying to be better and listen and change and really hear the person next to you and where they’re coming from, that’s all we can ask for,” says Lindsey.

“I try to do my best to educate people. I really believe in representation. I try to continue to educate myself, because everything is constantly evolving.”

Living Authentically

While the LGBTQIA+ community at McCombs is a small group, Lindsey likes to think of eQual as small but mighty and hopes to encourage more LGBTQIA+ members to apply to business school.

Members of eQUAL pose in a rooftop swimming pool in downtown Austin.

Members of eQUAL pose in a rooftop swimming pool in downtown Austin.

black and white photo of Lindsey holding a rainbow pride flag that is in color.

Lindsey has been out since she was 17 and says it hasn’t always been easy. She has dealt with micro-aggressions, stereotypes, and mistreatment from others. To overcome this she lives by Michelle Obama’s famous words: “When they go low, we go high.”

“It hasn’t been easy but it’s their loss. I know I’m a great friend, I’m a great employee, and if [someone] is choosing not to be nice to me because of this one little aspect of my life, then it’s their loss,” she says.

“Life is too short, I’m just trying to enjoy every moment and like just being myself,” says Lindsey. “I don’t want to hide who I am ever.”

Pride Celebrations in Austin

At Texas McCombs, we strive to create a supportive community by partnering with Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA), a nonprofit organization that focuses on empowering LGBTQIA+ business students. In 2014 McCombs became one of the inaugural school partners of the ROMBA fellowship, which grants LGBTQ+ MBA Fellows with a minimum $20,000 scholarship and access to leadership programming. ROMBA also hosts events and an annual conference to educate and connect LGBTQIA+ business students through C-suite panels, workshops, competitions, receptions, and career fairs. This year the conference, which is the world’s largest gathering of LBGTQIA+ business students and alumni, will take place in Austin in October.  

Austin has many Pride Month celebrations around town in June but its official Pride festival and parade is held in August– this also gives the UT Austin student population, a very active part of the LGBTQIA+ community, the opportunity to volunteer and participate.


To connect with eQual MBAs, you can follow them on Instagram @equalmbs or email Sally and Lindsey at equalmbas@mccombs.utexas.edu.

Texas McCombs Community: Pride 2019

Last week, Austin held its annual Stonewall Riots Rally at the Texas Capitol to raise awareness about violence against the LGBTQ+ community and to celebrate Pride in a safe space. This year is the 50th Anniversary of the historic Stonewall Riots in 1969 where members of the LGBTQ+ community fought against a police raid on June 28 at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York. A year later, the very first Gay Pride Parades in America took place in New York, California, and Illinois. Since then, cities all over the country host Pride marches and celebrations to highlight LGBTQ+ identities and allies in the community during the month of June.

Photo of rainbow pride flag in front of the Texas state capitol

Photo Courtesy of Austin Pride Facebook

Austin has many Pride Month celebrations around town in June but for various reasons, its official Pride festival and parade is held in August– this also gives the UT Austin student population, a very active part of the LGBTQ+ community, the opportunity to volunteer and participate. The MBA program is celebrating Pride Month by recognizing the impact, courage, and achievements of our students that are part of the LGBTQ+ community.

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