I am Sarah Melton, one of the interns in the Youth HIV Prevention Project, and I go to a high school in South King County. I decided to join this project because it relates to my career goal of being a cellular and molecular biologist, and finding a cure for HIV. I have gotten a lot of job related skills through this internship, like public relations. The other project members and I got to teach HIV/STD prevention awareness classes to my school as a part of this project. On a personal note I love cars, my favorite is a 1965 Chevy Malibu. I also love school.

My name is Chinbo Chong. I will be a Freshman at University of California – Berkeley in the Fall of 2005. I first heard about this project during an announcement at my school, and I decided to jump into this opportunity because I knew that even the smallest ideas can make a difference in someone’s life. Through the process of making the web site and also being trained with AIDS/HIV/STD information, it was obvious that I learned a lot since the beginning. Part of the reason is that the other interns and our coordinator Kari Kesler have been very open about many things, making the students feel comfortable. Although the group was small I know that it will certainly affect our community in a positive way because a tremendous amount of effort, time, and passion was put into this project. I definitely enjoyed being part of this group, striving to make a positive influence in our community. I am very excited to see the outcome of this project.

My name is Justin Joy, I’m 19 years old. My school is an alternative teaching school where we are encouraged to get internships. I am concerned with the rise in HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, so when I heard that a Public Health worker wanted a group of students to intern and learn about HIV/AIDS and design a youth-friendly web page on HIV/AIDS prevention, I jumped at the opportunity. Once a week from January to June we went to the Federal Way Public Health Center to meet with Kari Kesler and learn about HIV/AIDS. She was extra nice, and she knew how to make us feel comfortable – SANDWICHES. My career goals are to become a bioengineer and graduate from a prestigious university. After we learned about HIV/AIDS we corresponded with the school nurse and developed the HIV/STD curriculum for our school.

Hey everybody. My name is Alysha McCaffrey. About me: I live and breathe education and knowledge. I love to read, think and write. Music is also a very big part of my life; I listen to just about every genre of music out there, and I also play the cello. I want to educate my fellow peers about HIV/AIDS and STDs because I truly believe knowledge is the best tool to protect yourself and your loved ones. I didn’t know as much about HIV until I took on this project, and now I know what can save lives. Knowing your status and your partner’s status and using protection during sex can help stop this epidemic that is killing people every year. This is something we can’t ignore, we can’t just expect it to go away on its own - we have to stand up and do something about it. I only hope the information you learn from this website can better your education, and that you will spread your knowledge to others around you.