History major builds inclusive spaces through campus leadership

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State graduate Zach Hamer-Lang, who earned a degree in history and dual minors in sociology and Jewish studies this past weekend, grew up immersed in academia, leading him to value history and question the world from various angles.

Hamer-Lang is the son of Clarence Lang, Susan Welch Dean of the College of the Liberal Arts, and Jennifer Hamer, professor of African American studies and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. Through them, he said, he was raised to understand that history is the study of our everyday experiences as much as it is the past.

A liberal arts education gave him the tools to analyze information, form opinions and communicate ideas effectively, all skills that he has brought out of the classroom into his everyday life.

“I learned to question why the world I live in looks, feels and functions in the ways that it does,” he said. “History provides a method of scrutinizing institutional and social structures that are presented as though they are unchanging because they have always been and will always be.”

Though he has lived the last six years in State College, Hamer-Lang was born in Detroit and grew up primarily in Kansas and Illinois. His life as an African American with intersectional identities sparked his interest in post-World War I African American history, focusing on the stories of African Americans with intersectional queer, neurodivergent or disabled identities.

“The experiences I have had because of my identity, both positive and negative, do not exist in isolation,” he said. “Exploring African American history provides context for how I, and others like me, exist.”

It is this same sense of connection and community building that led Hamer-Lang and a close friend of his to found the Association for Transgender Experience in Research (AFTER). As the event planner for AFTER, Hamer-Lang has worked to create programming that centers transgender voices and builds the organization's visibility across campus.

Then, in 2024, when Hamer-Lang was searching for a group that highlighted intersectional experiences as a queer person of color while also providing a comfortable space, he came across an inactive Instagram account for the Queer and Trans People of Color (QTPOC). He and two other students revived it, and he has served as its president for the past two years.

For Hamer-Lang, the two organizations complement each other well. While AFTER creates space for research and advocacy around transgender experiences, he said, QTPOC offers a home for queer students of color to gather, organize and celebrate.

Being part of QTPOC, Hamer-Lang said, means being a member of a community with a legacy of resistance. Standing alongside the community members, embracing authenticity and existing defiantly are not only ideals, but practices. As president, Hamer-Lang hopes to create the community that he was looking for when he sought out QTPOC, where individuals can express themselves without their presence or identity being questioned.

“Everyone deserves to enter each space feeling confident that, at the minimum, who they are will be acknowledged and respected,” he said. “This security allows people to voice their ideas and share their passions without restriction.”

Hamer-Lang said AFTER and QTPOC not only acknowledge the existence of queer students and queer students with intersectional identities at Penn State but also provide a space where their experiences can be shared and their presence valued.

Those values come through in QTPOC events as well. In 2025, QTPOC hosted a fashion show with the K-Pop Music and Dance Club, Eminence Modeling Troupe and Writers Organized to Represent Diverse Stories, sponsored by the Paul Robeson Cultural Center (PRCC) and inspired by the ballroom scene. Members, co-hosts and audience members were encouraged to walk in different themed categories.

“It was wonderful to see how many people showed up for a proudly QTPOC event to cheer on both friends and strangers,” Hamer-Lang said.

The following year, QTPOC went on an overnight trip to New York City, where they visited queer landmarks including the Leslie-Lohman Art Museum and the Stonewall Inn.

“We had never done something like this before, and I am incredibly proud of us,” Hamer-Lang said. “It was a really valuable experience because it provided an opportunity for experiential learning and brought members of QTPOC as well as allies closer together in an environment where people were free to be themselves.”

His study of history, Hamer-Lang said, directly shapes how he approaches that kind of community building. Reflecting on historical movements, he understands that organizations function best when people work collectively towards a common goal across diverse communities.

“History has taught me to appreciate difference and to avoid shying away from the impact that differences have on individual lived experiences,” he said. “There can be a fear that recognizing diversity within organizations can detract from a sense of unity. History teaches us that this is not the case and that unity is based on understanding and acceptance, not uniformity.”

This collective mindset impacts how Hamer-Lang handles the challenges of leadership. There is a misconception, he said, that only QTPOC identifying students are welcome in the organization, which is a barrier he has worked to break by inviting allies and partnering with other campus groups.

“What has kept me going is the people who continue to turn out and support us, whether this be members of the QTPOC community or allies,” he said.

Sustaining that energy while balancing academics has required Hamer-Lang to rethink what leadership looks like day to day. The critical thinking skills his liberal arts education gave him helped him assess what was sustainable and make choices about where to invest his time. Learning to delegate and to say no was one of the most important adjustments he made, he said.

“It can sometimes feel like I have to be personally involved in everything relating to QTPOC,” he said. “I have had to learn that while I may be involved in the planning process, I won’t be at every event or be able to stay the entire time. I put a lot into my leadership position, but I put more into my schoolwork and my own mental and physical health.”

In the fall, Hamer-Lang will attend George Washington University to pursue a master’s degree in history, a path his time as an undergraduate made clear to him.

“My undergraduate experience cemented my interest in history, while introducing me to other areas of study that I would like to continue to explore, like sociology and women and gender studies,” he said. “Both my academics and my campus involvement have also helped me to understand what my interests are and why I am drawn to them.”

As for his organizational involvement, Hamer-Lang is thinking about the foundation he is leaving behind. When he restarted QTPOC, there were no former leaders to turn to for guidance, he said, which is something he wants to change for whoever steps up next.

“I hope to be remembered as someone who provided the guidance that I would have loved to have when I was starting out,” he said. “I hope to be one of many successful leaders of the organization.”