“Coming out isn’t a one-time event – it’s a continuous process”
Growing up in rural North Carolina, Corey Williams always knew he was different. But it wasn’t until his late teens that he found the language – and the confidence – to express it. His road to self-acceptance started in high school, and today, working in Biogen’s Quality Control Bioassay Lab in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, he continues to embrace his identity and the wholeness of his personality in new ways.
Corey (left) with husband Jacob at their engagement party in April 2024.
High School: The First Steps
“For people who know me today,” Corey explained, “they would describe me as talkative and chatty. But up until age 16, I was silent. I didn’t speak my mind. I sat in corners. Once I started to collect the pieces of my identity, I became one of most social people you’ll ever meet.”
In high school, when Corey made the decision to begin his coming out journey, he worried about the social repercussions. Coming out would make him one of very few openly gay individuals in his community. He already felt isolated in high school and was concerned that being honest about his identity would deepen his isolation.
Corey with his high school best friends a few years after coming out.
He started by telling a few close friends, and was relieved by their supportive response. Telling his family was the next step, and it wasn’t going to be an easy one. His relationships with his parents and his siblings were tenuous, strained by his father’s struggle with addiction.
“I didn’t start telling my family until the summer before college,” Corey recalled. “I just thought I couldn’t go and start being an adult without being my authentic self.”
It was a bumpy summer. But one by one he told each member of his family, with mixed results, and packed up to begin his freshman year of college.
College: Finding His Voice
Corey began his freshman year at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington as a biology major and an openly gay man. In many ways it was cathartic to be living openly and honestly, but it wasn’t without challenges.
“I’ve always prided myself on being naturally good at science,” Corey said. “But at college I found, people would say, ‘Why would we want to listen to someone like you?’”
That was tough, but Corey had found new strength and new perspective that would carry him through in his adult years. “I just thought, ‘You’re gonna see me. You’re gonna see I’m good at what I do. I don’t care what you think.’”
Biogen: Hitting a Stride
Not long after graduation, Corey found his way to Biogen. Even before he was hired, he got clues that this would be a place where he would feel comfortable being himself.
“I was interviewed by this confident woman of color,” Corey remembered. “And as she was walking me over to the interview room, she mentioned that her favorite thing about Biogen is that everyone wanted to know her opinion on everything , without having to prove herself first. It was really powerful to have her voice valued. Honestly, I didn't believe her at first, but it ended up being very true. From day one at Biogen, people valued what I thought.”
At Biogen, Corey found a job where he can apply his talent for science within a supportive community. He’s also a member of ReachOUT, Biogen’s Employee Resource Group for LGBTQ+ employees and their allies. “I’ve been impressed with how supportive the company and employees are, and how authentic inclusivity is embedded in the Biogen culture. No one ever treated me differently or made me feel like I was less for being who I am.”
Strengthening Family Bonds
Working at Biogen also brought another unexpected benefit: getting closer to his older brother Tim, who is also a Biogen employee. Growing up, Corey and Tim had a complicated relationship. To Corey, Tim seemed a thousand miles away in personality and in lifestyle. Tim was a U.S. Marine and, in many ways, represented “stereotypical masculinity.” Fearing a harsh reaction, Tim was the last member of his family Corey came out to.
When Corey finally told Tim, in a painstakingly crafted 3,000-word text message, Tim reacted calmly, dissolving many of Corey’s deepest worries and fears. And slowly, over time, they grew closer.
Corey and brother Tim, also a Biogen employee, in their brother’s wedding party in 2023.
But it wasn’t until Corey recommended Tim for a job at Biogen and Tim moved back to North Carolina that their bond really grew.
Corey found that stereotypes had been barring him from really getting to know his brother. “I had thought we were so different,” Corey explained. “He was into football, basketball – stuff I’m not into.
But we both like going to the gym, we hang out with our dogs. I’m close with his wife and he gets along great with my husband. We go double date camping.”
International Coming Out Day
Corey volunteered to share his story this International Coming Out Day in the hopes of motivating others, particularly younger generations, to confidently accept and express their true selves.
“There’s no benefit to pretending you’re something you’re not,” Corey advised. “I don’t know that people fully appreciate that until you accept that part of yourself, you learn more about your whole personality because you’re not trying to box yourself in.”
ReachOUT’s theme this year is “Be. Be You, Be Proud, Be Together.” Corey likes to focus on the first part: “Be.” “The goal should be to not have to do anything special. As a queer person, you should just be. There are so many different versions of queer people. A lot of stereotyping is not accurate. There’s more to being a queer person than what you see in movies.”
It’s Corey’s hope that by just being, it can help others know, this National Coming Out Day, that life is better when you can be yourself. And while coming out never ends, it doesn’t always have to feel like a struggle.
