Maya

Contact Maya

My name is Maya. I’m a 17 year old Mexican and Native American young woman and I have lived in both Mexico and the United States. I live now in San Diego County in California, and I’m a senior in a high school. I’m especially interested in forensic sciences, health, and community.

With MySistahs, I provide bicultural and bilingual—English and Spanish—peer assistance, prevention education, and outreach about reproductive health issues to young women. I worry about the increasing incidence of HIV and AIDS in young women, especially in young women of color, and I feel the importance of educating my peers about their options. We need to be better educated about how we can take care of ourselves and about the resources and/or support groups that are available to us. I believe that online peer education is an effective way to educate young women about sexual health issues and options because the Internet is the tool my peers use most to communicate with each other and find information.

I’m interested in issues that affect me and my peers. Positive roles models—like my mother, relatives, and extended family members—often stress the importance of participating in community activities. My mother is a health care professional, and I’ve benefited from her knowledge and experiences as well as from her professional and personal friendships.

I’d like to help other young women of color with sexual and reproductive health issues, especially preventing HIV. We need to take care of ourselves and each other. Let me know if I can help you with sexual health issues—including prevention, testing, or treatment related to pregnancy, STIs, and/or HIV.

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