Getting to know your GO! Social Media Team

As the GO! Athletes Social Media Team, we want you to feel comfortable reaching out and engaging with us. We wanted to put together a post so you can get to know a little bit about us, and we want to get to know you! The people on this list are available for you to contact through any of our social media platforms, and we would love to share your input with others. I asked everyone to answer some questions, and for fun I answered them too. Here are the members of the GO! Social Media Team:

Matt Korman (he/him/himself): Social Media Coordinator. University of Texas.

How has GO! been important to you? GO! has given me a space to be myself and connect with other LGBT athletes on a personal level. Being a part of constructing and maintaining a platform for other athletes to connect really drives my passion for GO! If I can help an athlete’s career in and out of uniform, by creating this space, then I've done my job. 

Tell us about one significant moment you’ve had as and LGBT athlete. The day I came out to my teammates was a significant moment for me as an athlete. Minutes after I sent my email, I was flooded with texts and phone calls from my teammates filled with overwhelming support and love. I remember feeling like the weight of the world had finally been lifted off my shoulders, it was a defining moment for me.  I was able to fully invest in swimming and my times reflected that. 

What is your worst habit? Shopping and never putting on enough sun screen. 

Name one thing that makes you feel like you just can't even? People who bite their nails.

What song do you love to dance to? Ignition-Remix by R. Kelly

Lauren Neidigh (She/her/herself): Director of Social Media. University of Arizona, SwimSwam News.

How has GO! been important to you? After coming out publicly with Outsports, Sean Smith (GO! Athletes’ Managing Director) reached out to me. It felt special to be part of a network of LGBT athletes, since I’ve never lived in a place where I could connect with many LGBT people.

Tell us about one significant moment you've had as and LGBT athlete. One day after I came out to my team, I was sitting in the locker room and we were all talking before practice. It doesn’t really sound like anything special, but it was. Just sitting in a room full of people that I loved who loved me too, knowing that nothing could change that.

What is your worst habit? Sometimes I drop it too low on the dance floor and I fall over. Okay, a lot of times.

What would you do if you won the lottery? First, I would buy enough dog treats for buddy to last the rest of his life. Then I would buy plane tickets to see all of my friends and go to all of the pride festivals.

What song do you love to dance to? The Gummy Bear Song. There’s a pretty embarrassing video of me as a high school senior dancing to that song during taper time.

Mai (like the month) Foringer (she/her/herself): Social Media Coordinator. Germantown Friends School, Penn State (Main or Abington pending)

How has GO! been important to you? GO! has helped me grow emotionally and intellectually as I meet more people and learn the ropes. I was reassured that I wasn't the only LGBTQ athlete and that there were people to talk to who got it, and understood my struggles. 

What has inspired you to work through social media with GO? I find social media fascinating (most likely due in part to the fact that I am on my phone a lot). But I like being able to create messages and ideas to show people and watch it gain shares and favorites and start conversations. 

Tell us about one significant moment you’ve had as and LGBT athlete. My freshman year of high school was a really rough year for me. I have depression and anxiety and they really kicked my butt that year from preseason in August through the last day of school. I was starting to come to terms that I was gay but I wasn't in a place mentally or emotionally to tell my friends. One of my captains kind of took me under her wing and became a mentor and a safe person to talk to. I came out to her and she was very supportive and helped me as much as she could. I grew as a person and as an athlete tremendously because I finally felt free for the first time in a while. I also realized that year that I wanted to be like her when I was a senior and be that safe person for underclassmen to come to and know that I would support and help them in any way possible. 

What song do you love to dance to? Just one? Here's 4. Crank it up- David Guetta ft. Akon, Smack That- Akon, Raise Your Hands Original Mix- Ummet Ozcan, Happy- Pharrell Williams. Anything with a good beat or a good drop. 

Name one thing that makes you feel like you just can't even? I can't even with so many things... But elderly drivers in Wegman's parking lot on the weekends is at the top of that list. 

Angelika Rothberg (she/her/herself): Social Media Intern. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

How has GO! been important to you? Coming in contact with other LGBT athletes has been really great; knowing that there are many many people out there going through the same situations as me is really cool to know, and GO! has given me the opportunity to connect with people. 

What has inspired you to work through social media with GO? I think that social media gives people a chance to explore things they might not see in person or be too afraid to seek out. It’s a really good platform to reach out to people that are maybe struggling with their sexuality, and it’s cool that I can help get through to people that might not be ready to approach people about LGBT issues in real life.

Tell us about one significant moment you’ve had as and LGBT athlete. Just coming out to my team a couple of weeks into my freshman year, before I had formed any strong relationships with any of my teammates, and having them respond positively and being able to be my true self around people that I hadn’t known too well. No one thought of me any differently, which was a great experience for me especially since I was so new to college life. 

What would you do if you won the lottery? Travel, give my parents enough money to retire and live well, and donate to charities. 

What song do you love to dance to? ugly heart - g.r.l. (if you haven’t heard it, look it up its great 10/10)