During the Fall 2021 semester, I worked as a health education intern at myHealth. Many of my tasks included updating resource sheets and making infographics. I also went to virtual coalition meetings, like Sexuality and Family Life Educators (SFLE), a group of health educators from around Minnesota. I also worked with myHealth’s Youth Advisory Board (YAB), a group of high school students from area schools who work on health-related projects in their schools, the clinic, and the community. This year, many of them are working on projects related to health care equity. I also got to accompany some of the members of YAB at tabling events as they promoted myHealth at their schools, which gave me an opportunity to interact with high schoolers in a more casual setting.

One of the main things I got to do was shadow health educators as they gave presentations at schools. I visited Hopkins, Eden Prairie, Wayzata, Chaska, and the International School of Minnesota. I shadowed presentations like Stress Management, Puberty, Body Image and Anatomy, Circles of Wellness, and Safer Sex Methods at the schools, as well as a community event about growing up for parents and their children. For some of these presentations, I mostly helped pass out papers and put together anatomy kits. As I got more comfortable talking about these topics, I got to help teach a little bit more. I was most familiar with the Safer Sex Methods presentation, so I eventually taught different contraception and barrier methods, and worked my way up to doing the external condom demonstration, which was honestly one of the most nerve-wracking moments of my life.

Another major skill I learned was answering anonymous questions. Some were more difficult than others, but they usually fell into the categories of values-based, shock, or "am I normal?" We made sure every question was answered, even if we thought someone just asked as a joke. The specific format involves validating the person who asked, defining any unfamiliar terms, saying that people may have different values and boundaries when it comes to a certain activity and that it's ok, and making sure to connect people with further resources. Another important thing when answering questions was making sure we always said “a person” rather than “you”, so instead of saying “you should use the kind of birth control that works best for you”, we would say “a person should use the kind of birth control that works best for them.” This subtle change is important for making sure the person who asked the question doesn’t feel called out or embarrassed in any way.