Access Spotlight: Drew Kirks-Cler

June 15, 2026 - Emily Jodway Patyna

Throughout the month of June, the College of Social Science celebrates Pride Month and highlights the work that our students, faculty and alumni are doing to support and uplift the LGBTQ+ community. Our June Access Spotlight is Drew Kirks-Cler, a current doctoral student in psychology at University of Illinois who earned his master’s in sociology at Michigan State.

At Illinois, Kirks-Cler’s research centers around healthcare experiences and social-personality psychology, specifically among individuals from marginalized communities. This stems in part from his own experiences growing up in a very nontraditional family and as a first generation college student. “That was one of the first things that had me thinking and learning about intersectionality on a very deep level … race, gender, social class, upbringing, the way all of these things intersect,” he said. 

His interest in transgender and gender minority healthcare experiences is also influenced in part by his experience navigating this realm himself. He approaches all of his research with a ‘scholar activist’ framework, combining academic knowledge with concepts he can share insight on from his own perspective. 

“Having had personal experiences and knowing a lot of people who had interesting and often challenging experiences in that realm was my motivation to seek out more knowledge and ways we can ease the path for some of these individuals,” he explained. 

After earning his bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology at University of Michigan, Kirks-Cler was interested in furthering his research experience and was drawn to MSU by the work of sociology professor stef shuster. 

“Meeting stef and learning about the work being done here made me realize that there is a space for us to do this research, do it well, and get people to want to listen to us with robust academic evidence to back up these things that we’ve been anecdotally experiencing,” he said. 

While at Michigan State, Kirks-Cler assisted on a preexisting project tracking the experiences of transgender individuals in medical spaces through surveys and interviews. They wove this together with psychology-driven insight on how these individuals understand their gender and identities, and how this may shift across spaces. 

Kirks-Cler and fellow researchers have found that most important to this community in a medical setting is being respected and having their identities acknowledged. “People are just looking for providers who are willing to learn and hear them out,” he explained. “They aren’t expecting giant overhauls in the medical space, or any space really. They want what I think anyone else would want, and that’s what it boils down to- being respected and being seen.”

Kirks-Cler is currently at University of Illinois in the personality psychology PhD program, where he is using an interdisciplinary approach to research that examines concepts of individuality and personality traits. “I think it’s so important to bring in sociology, history, all these angles and factors that are influencing people beyond just their individual psychology,” he said. 

Doing this work, he explains, has helped him learn more about his own personal values and what is important to him in research. And from the beginning, he has been driven by the desire to make a difference in the community: “I’ve developed these skills to communicate these ideas, and now I’m looking for opportunities to make that information more accessible to people. I think it’s important that the work you’re doing is giving back and having some sort of tangible impact that is beneficial for the communities you’re entering.”

When speaking on Pride Month, Kirks-Cler brought up the work that professor shuster has done surrounding the idea of trans joy. “It really shifted my perspective to see that we can find ways to celebrate ourselves throughout the year, not just during June, and that we can celebrate our accomplishments and come together in community amidst the hardships,” he said. 

The idea of carrying on the celebration beyond the month of June, Kirks-Cler explained, is an important step toward making members of the LGBTQ+ community feel seen. “It’s about listening to people both within and outside of our spaces, finding those ways to feel joy, and inviting others to experience that joy, even if it’s just finding a sense of peace within themselves.”

 

Honorees’ views are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the College of Social Science.