About ME

My name is Marie Varghese (they/them; she/her), and I'm a desi diasporic queer non-binary neurodivergent femme. My umbilical cord was built in the Bronx (unceded land of the Lenape) and I trace my roots across homelands that stretch from Manhattan skylines to New Jersey suburbs & mango trees that grow in Kerala, India. I was raised along the borderlands of the George Washington Bridge and I come from a long lineage of storytellers and community organizers. My creative writing explores the contours of immigrant family life, queer (in)visibility, grief and resilience.

MY WORK and EDUCATIONAL JOURNEY:

I currently serve as the Senior Advisor for the CUNY Start program at Bronx Community College. The goal of our program is to prepare incoming students for college-level coursework prior to enrolling in credit-bearing classes. As an Advisor, I support students’ academic and personal growth journey as they learn to construct their own understanding of college success. For over two decades, I have cultivated brave spaces with my students to dream boldly about their future. For me, the classroom serves as a circle of support so we can all tap into our own inner brilliance. Throughout this process, I connect my students to resources that fortify their academic foundation and ignite their true passions. As an educator, my work with students is deeply rooted in a commitment to social justice and community care.

When I was in high school, my parents enthusiastically supported my educational goals but the American college experience was completely new terrain for all of us. Throughout my college application process, I had to be resourceful, ask for help, and do a lot of research on my own. Many times, I felt utterly lost. Although I had no roadmap to college, I landed in the right place - Livingston College, Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. I am eternally grateful to my professors, Deans and fellow student leaders who mentored me along the way. In 2003, I graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and in 2018, I received the Livingston College Distinguished Alumni Award for my work as an educator and activist. I earned my M.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Columbia University and this is where I discovered my passion for teaching. I identify as a lifelong learner and scholar of the heart.

I have devoted the last 14 years of my career serving college-bound students in the Bronx. I have worked with students between the ages of 17 through 73. In addition to my role in CUNY Start, I have been a College Consultant for the Sadie Nash Leadership Project, an organization designed to strengthen, empower, and equip young women as agents for change in their lives and in the world. My lifelong commitment to expand college access is focused on uplifting communities of color, first-generation students, LGBTQIA+ students, recent immigrants and undocumented students. I have a deep commitment to Disability Justice in every aspect of my professional and personal work.

WRITING and CREATIVE LIFE:

I wrote my first poem at the age of 10 and co-authored my first publication by the age of 22. I love a good writing workshop and I have studied the craft under the guidance of writers like Roxane Gay, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Vanessa Mártir and Bushra Rehman. In 2012 I served as dramaturg for Organic Magnetics and helped produce “Ghosts of Manhattan,” an interactive theater experience retracing 500 years of New York City history through dance. My poem, “Rearranging the Bones,” was published in Imaniman: Poets Writing in the Anzaldúan Borderlands (2016) in homage to Gloria Anzaldúa and her iconic work Borderlands/La Frontera. I am honored to be included in adrienne maree brown’s visionary work, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds (2017) where I reflect upon the circuitous journey of personal transformation.

I am currently writing a queer memoir that explores the magic and heartache of my coming out journey as a queer Malayalee. My creative life is infused with cosmic co-incidence and synchronicity.