From backstage, it looked like the inside of a rainbow.

With this image stuck in her mind, she took a deep breath and walked onstage, into the vibrant lights.

Last Tuesday, the school hosted the first Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) event in Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS)  history. The event was held in the auditorium at 6:30 p.m. with a reception afterward held in the gym.

The GSA assembly was rescheduled from an earlier date in December.

Spearheading the assembly was the school’s GSA club, predominantly run by senior President Wesley McKee and club sponsor Mrs. Milosevich, who worked together with various clubs around the school and the community to create the event.

Businesses from around the Beach, such as the Virginia Beach Public Library, Hampton Roads Pride, Croc’s Catering, and the LGBT Center of Hampton Roads, supported the assembly by setting up booths for the reception, along with live music provided by BJ Griffin.

According to McKee, the club felt that this assembly was needed to open an honest conversation to a sensitive topic and enable more schools to address it.

The assembly covered the purpose of GSA with a student-run panel and featured a video from a former student, Ethan Potts explaining the what the club meant to him.

There were also speakers from the community, including the Virginia Beach Police Department LGBT liaison Sergeant Shelly Meister and the current Hampton Roads Pride President Michael Berlucchi.

“I’m here to tell you, on behalf of Hampton Roads Pride, that we see you, we support you, we appreciate you, and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with you in all you do to improve our schools and our cities,” Berlucchi said.

The event concluded with a kaleidoscopic performance from the school’s’ color guard, including the club’s Vice President Ashley Harris.

The night was seemingly a success, filled with an air of respect and understanding.

“It felt amazing to see all of the people in the crowd that were there to support all of us and to finally see our hard work pay off,” McKee said.