Go to Content Go to Navigation Go to Navigation Go to Site Search Homepage


We know that students are sexually active—it's a fact. And so we need to make sure they are equipped with the right tools to make healthy decisions.

I had great sex education in my school in the eleventh grade, but I thought that was sort of late to start introducing young people to resources that they need to make sexually healthy decisions. So I lobbied my school’s administration to start sex education in the ninth grade. After a lot of advocacy work, my school did create an education program for ninth-graders on sexually transmitted infections and HIV.

But it wasn’t enough. I also thought that everyone should have access to contraception. So I turned to Planned Parenthood and picked up condoms, which I distributed to my classmates. People started calling me “Condom Queen.” I was a source of knowledge about sexual health for my peers. Planned Parenthood was really supportive of what I was doing. They gave me the knowledge and the resources to be able to empower myself and also empower other young people.

When I got to my college campus, I started a chapter of Students for Choice, which is part of the Planned Parenthood Generation Action network. I was still passionate about condom distribution, and I thought it would be helpful to have condoms available in the vending machines in residential halls —that way, students could get condoms 24/7. The university offered only one certain type of condom, which was a great start, but students wanted more of a variety—for example, some students wanted latex-free condoms, some wanted internal condoms, and so on. After speaking with the administration and the residential hall advisors, we were able to increase the variety of what was available.

We know that students are sexually active — it’s a fact. And so we need to make sure they are equipped with the right tools to make healthy decisions.

I also organized a collegiate abortion speak-out on my campus. Anyone who has had an abortion was allowed to just get up and tell their story. We gave people the space and support to speak their stories honestly and openly. I made sure that the event was open to anyone, and that even people who are not supportive of abortion care would feel welcomed and invited into the space.

A really beautiful thing happened — someone from the anti-women’s health group on campus reached out to me afterward and said that she was glad that we’d had the speak-out. Her reaction shows that everyone should have safe access to abortion, and that it’s really important to be in a society where we feel safe telling our stories.

How has Planned Parenthood Been There for you?

Share Your Story

Trusted care, every step of the way

STD testing, birth control, abortion, and more in-person and online.

Español

This website uses cookies

Planned Parenthood cares about your data privacy. We and our third-party vendors use cookies and other tools to collect, store, monitor, and analyze information about your interaction with our site to improve performance, analyze your use of our sites and assist in our marketing efforts. You may opt out of the use of these cookies and other tools at any time by visiting Cookie Settings. By clicking “Allow All Cookies” you consent to our collection and use of such data, and our Terms of Use. For more information, see our Privacy Notice.

Cookie Settings

Planned Parenthood cares about your data privacy. We and our third-party vendors, use cookies, pixels, and other tracking technologies to collect, store, monitor, and process certain information about you when you access and use our services, read our emails, or otherwise engage with us. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences, or your device. We use that information to make the site work, analyze performance and traffic on our website, to provide a more personalized web experience, and assist in our marketing efforts. We also share information with our social media, advertising, and analytics partners. You can change your default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of required cookies when utilizing our site; this includes necessary cookies that help our site to function (such as remembering your cookie preference settings). For more information, please see our Privacy Notice.

Marketing

On

We use online advertising to promote our mission and help constituents find our services. Marketing pixels help us measure the success of our campaigns.

Performance

On

We use qualitative data, including session replay, to learn about your user experience and improve our products and services.

Analytics

On

We use web analytics to help us understand user engagement with our website, trends, and overall reach of our products.