Remembering Rose Wong
On February 2, 2021, PRIDEnet lost a dear friend and colleague: Rose Wong, a medical student at Stanford University. Rose was a member of PRIDE Lab, our program for trainees to gain research skills and experiences by working with a LGBTQ+ health-related research project. As Rose’s research mentor, I had the privilege of getting to know Rose since late 2019. She was thorough, deliberate, and dedicated to her work and the potential impact it could have in LGBTQ+ communities.
Rose was also an artist; she was an accomplished pianist and wood sculptor. She composed and performed an album, Hyaline Songs, that tells the story of a 20-year-old Chinese transgender woman navigating the ideals and realities of gender. Rose shared her talent and love of the arts with others as Co-President of the Stanford Medicine’s Arts Collective and through many arts venues.
Her smile lit up the room, and her laugh made us laugh. Throughout the pandemic, Rose would shoot small private messages to others on Zoom telling them how nice they looked or noticing a new haircut. Rose was kind, gentle, and caring.
She dedicated her advocacy to ensure that transgender, queer, and people-of-color were safe, included, welcomed, and supported. From her national work to get women’s colleges to include transgender women to the support she provided to struggling classmates to her commitment to racial justice work, Rose was a dedicated leader who will be deeply missed.
A warm, gentle soul who left this world far too quickly, Rose will forever be in our hearts.
Rest in peace, my friend.
Mitchell R. Lunn
Co-Director, The PRIDE Study
Dedication to Rose: http://bit.ly/rosewong
