The stories and challenges of three transgendered individuals were told in a University alumna’s documentary, “This Is My Journey.”

Kate Brickman, who recently received her master’s degree in broadcast journalism, showed her film Tuesday evening at The Art Theatre in downtown Champaign. The three stars of the film were in the audience, as well as dozens of members of the Champaign community.

Brickman said she has been an ally to the LGBT community since her older sister came out as lesbian when she was a teenager, adding that she was always “on the LGBT beat, of sorts” during her time as an undergraduate. When she returned to work on her master’s degree, she said she wanted to work on something challenging and in-depth for her final project.

“I realized I didn’t know a lot about the ‘T’ in LGBT, so I decided to focus on that,” Brickman said. With the help of Nancy Benson, professor of journalism, the campus LGBT Resource center and the UP Center, Brickman reached out to the transgendered community and found three stories.

Troy Pfaffe and Shirene Thomas were married for 13 years. Shirene knew even before their marriage that Troy liked to cross-dress and eventually, Shirene asked to see him as a woman. Troy then showed her Shayla, the woman he wanted to become. Shirene said she tried to be as supportive as possible. The two even married a second time as Shayla and Shirene.

But Shayla said she couldn’t stand the double life she still led. She was only living as a woman part-time, and she said she couldn’t do it any longer. She attempted suicide.

Shayla began taking testosterone-blockers and a form of estrogen. Shirene said the two are divorced but remain best friends.

Dr. Lori Davis, another focus of the film and an audience member at the showing, said the transition process can involve a lot of loss. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, 41 percent of the transgender community have attempted suicide, as compared to 2 percent of the general population.

After the showing of the documentary, the three subjects of the film, which also featured a transgendered man and woman, answered questions from the audience. Pfaffe said the entire filming process was therapeutic.

“It was like talking to a therapist you don’t have to pay for,” Pfaffe said.

The subjects agreed that the single best way to help transgendered individuals in the future is education.

Dana, a transgendered woman in Brickman’s film, said children need the necessary vocabulary — people need to identify with something in order to start a discussion.

“This is my journey,” Dana said. “I want to have that written on my gravestone someday.”