Three years ago on International Transgender Day of Visibility, Associated Student (AS) Senator Khadka – alone and in secret – sat down to take her first injected dose of hormones. At 19, after years of feeling isolated in a body she did not identify with, Khadka finally received the gender-affirming care she needed.

The senator for the College of Science and Mathematics, who requested to go by her last name, stood in front of her peers to share her own story and advocate for transgender students at CSUN in a time when their rights are being stripped away across the country.

“Coming from an immigrant household and a culture where conservative values dominate, the trans community has been the one place where I have truly felt safe,” Khadka said to fellow AS senators.

Khadka chose to only use her last name because she believes maintaining anonymity can also be a part of transgender visibility. Being “discreet,” Khadka said, allows her to live without unwanted labels.

Khadka recalled a childhood steeped in tradition, where judgment was imposed upon her from an early age. Originally from Nepal, a small South Asian country, Khadka attended school in Granada Hills, which she called an isolating time in her life.

As a teenager, she was forced to juggle navigating her self expression with strict rules from her parents and outdated school-enforced dress codes.

“My parents wouldn’t even let me curl my lashes in high school. After I came to school, I would have to, like, change into the clothes I wanted to wear,” Khadka said. “People calling me he/him … it would just sting every time.”

College meant the freedom to grow for Khadka, who said she gained friends and discovered a newfound confidence at CSUN. One of these friends, who identified as a transgender woman, inspired Khadka to seek out gender-affirming care simply through being herself.

“I was like, ‘Wow, she’s so beautiful, she’s able to do what she wants,’” Khadka recalled. “What’s stopping me?”

Without her parents’ approval, Khadka sought out the care to transition on her own. Along the way, she found life-changing support in her physician assistant. This experience motivated her to pursue the same path, determined to one day provide care and affirmation to others in her community.

Today, Khadka’s mom is aware of her daughter’s identity but does not accept it, while her father does not know. Khadka said she relies on her friends’ support, her allies, to help her through challenges at home.

The senator made the call to allies at CSUN to join her friends in uplifting the trans community.

“Being an ally isn’t just a label, it’s a call to action. It’s about respecting pronouns, protecting privacy. Not disclosing someone’s identity without their consent,” Khadka said.

President Donald Trump and his administration has targeted the transgender community since entering office for the second time in 2025.

On day one, Trump signed an executive order forcing federal agencies to only recognize two sexes – male and female – assigned at birth. The administration later moved to halt Medicaid and Medicare funding for gender-affirming care and is attempting to ban such care for people under 19, labeling it as “child abuse.”

Additionally, two separate orders were signed to ban transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military and participating in women’s sports.

The CSU system has publicly condemned the administration’s stance on transgender athletes in collegiate sports, entering a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) this month. The ORC determined San José State University violated Title IX by allowing a transgender athlete to compete on the university’s volleyball team for three consecutive years, prior to the signing of Trump’s executive order.

“The CSU is – and always has been – steadfastly committed to maintaining a welcoming and non-discriminatory environment for all students, employees and campus guests,” CSU Chancellor Mildred García said in an email statement to all CSU students and faculty.

Vice President Álvaro Aragón and Humanities Senator Kimberly Basilio co-wrote a resolution to condemn the recent anti-trans orders and marginalizing rhetoric in the U.S. in April of last year.

“We stand for all in the Transgender community,” Alvaro said Monday, after thanking Khadka for speaking.

In her speech to AS, Khadka said proper education on the transgender community is imperative now more than ever. Listening to and amplifying transgender voices, to Khadka, is the first step in obtaining equality for all.

Khadka called delivering her speech a “cathartic” moment. While writing the statement, she was hit with memories of her old self and a sense of pride in the woman she is today.

Now more than ever, Khadka feels a responsibility to advocate for the trans community, especially Black trans women, who face the highest level of risk for violence and discrimination.

“Each of us holds diverse perspectives, shaped by our lives and experiences,” Khadka said. “We are innovators. We are creators. We are artists, leaders and dreamers. We are more than the trans label that society tries to define us by.”