Name-change

[RebekahTwaddell]

I'm a recently trans male student, but I have a problem. I want to give myself a nickname on canvas, but I want to find a way to do it without telling my parents. I haven't told them I'm using a new name yet, and I'm not ready yet. If anyone has a quiet way of telling someone to change it without talking with my family, I would really be grateful. 

[SusanNiemeyer]

If you're a college student, I would suggest that you contact your school's LGBTQ+ Center for advice on how to navigate a name change on your campus.

If you're a high school student, this is obviously going to be much trickier depending on which part of the country you live in. 

I just did a quick Google search and found this organization: Trans Youth Equality Foundation. 

[RebekahTwaddell]

I'm in high school in maryland.

[SusanNiemeyer]

Since you are still in high school, I'd suggest that you reach out to organization that I posted earlier. You can also find support through The Trevor Project.  Also, does your school have a Gay-Straight Alliance Club? It's very important that you find support. 

Because you are still in high school, you may find it difficult to make a name change now, especially if your parents aren't on board. Once you head off to college, you'll have more options. As you search for colleges, contact their LGBTQ+ centers and ask about the school support and climate.

Good luck and take care.

[greydon]

Hello @RebekahTwaddell 

I think you had posted this earlier regarding the name change. We want students to be able to change their name or at least display name while in their Canvas courses. We have a feature for that built in as you can see from this guide: 

How do I change the settings in my user account as... - Instructure Community

However, if that option has been removed or you can't edit that - it is fairly common for schools to disable this setting as it can affect your official transcripts  and enrollments. If that's the case, please contact  your school registrar's office and they can assist in getting the name changed. Hopefully this helps!