A transgender man in Tennessee was suspended from his religious college just hours after undergoing gender-affirming top surgery, Buzzfeed News reports.

Yanna Awtrey, 21, attended Welch College, a private Free Will Baptist school near Nashville.
 He grew up in the Free Will Baptist Church as the son of missionaries.

"There was never another option for me to go to, and every time a new, non-Christian college was brought up, my parents would react negatively," he explains.

When Awtrey began studying at Welch College, he kept his gender identity a secret. He began hormone replacement therapy earlier this year and had his gender confirmation surgery August 2.

Because Awtrey couldn't be alone after the procedure, he stayed with a couple who knew his parents. While he was in the operating room, this couple contacted Welch and Awtrey's parents, who are unsupportive of his transition.

Hours into Awtrey's recovery, he received an email from Welch's vice president for student services, Jon Forlines, informing him that he was no longer welcome on campus: "Please be aware that because of the choices you have made we will not be able to allow you to come back to the dorm... We’re praying for you that the love of Christ will speak to your every need in the coming days."

The school offered Awtrey temporary housing at a local hotel and money for food, but he was told he would require permission before returning to the dorms to collect his belongings. Homeless and unable to stay in the hotel by himself post-surgery, he crashed with an acquaintance from a local support group.

"I have nowhere to permanently stay, and I can't work for money for at least two months because of the recovery process," Awtrey posted on social media. "It's the best and worst day of my life." School officials instructed him to edit the post or else they would withdraw their temporary housing offer.

Awtrey refused to voluntarily withdraw as a student, so the issue moved to a disciplinary committee hearing held August 7.

Following an opening prayer, Forlines read from the Welch student handbook, which forbids "any kind of sexual immortality, impurity, including the use of pornography" and "engaging in acts of sex immorality, including premarital and extramarital relations, sexual advances and sexual perversion in any form."

When Awtrey argued that he hadn't done "anything sexual of a nature that disobeys the college handbook and the Bible," a committee member said the "sexual perversion" rule was the "trigger phrase."

The committee ultimately suspended Awtrey from Welch for two semesters, but he doesn't believe he will be welcomed back after that period.

"The College holds that God created humanity in two distinct and complementary sexes: male and female," a Welch representative told BuzzFeed News in a statement. "The College acknowledges that the Fall of humanity into sin has introduced brokenness into God’s good creation, including in the realm of human sexuality."

"Welch College believes that individuals experiencing such confusion—and the distress that usually accompanies it—should be treated with love and compassion. The College also believes that attempting to alter one’s bodily identity constitutes a rejection of God’s design for humanity." Welch president Matt Pinson added that all students are educated on the institution's values and rules.

Under Title IX, U.S. schools are forbidden from discriminating against students on the basis of sexual or gender identity, but private schools run by religious organizations may apply for exemptions.

Awtrey is staying in the school-provided hotel until August 12, after which he will stay with family friends in North Carolina for the rest of his recovery.

"I’m just taking it one step at a time," he says. "I just feel really powerless right now, and I just want people to know that these things happen."

Awtrey chose to be identified by his birth name for the Buzzfeed News article.