Gonorrhea

by Devonte W.

I've been living in Cook County all of my life and never been educated about gonorrhea. I took some time to educate myself a little more and want to share the information I've learned with YOU. Parents, teachers, and mentors should always make it their business to teach sexual awareness. Although I didn't learn about Sex Ed in school I was taught sexual risks & warnings from a mentor. The reason I wasn't taught about subjects like STIs, Gonorrhea , and AIDs ,etc.; because it wasn't offered at my school. Cook County has the most gonorrhea cases in the country, according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.) Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that can infect both men and women. It can cause infections in the genitals, rectum, and throat. It is a very common infection, especially among young people ages 15-24 years.

You can get gonorrhea by having unprotected vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has gonorrhea. Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted bacterium. Reading a recent study from the CDC, I've learned that in the nation, Chicago ranks 1st and 2nd, respectively, for the highest rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia infections among young people aged 15–19 years . To help reduce these high rates of STIs and prevent HIV infection among youth, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) partnered with the Chicago Department of Public Health(DPH) to pilot an education and testing  project for gonorrhea and chlamydia. Overall In the 2010–2011 school year, 15 high schools participated  in the STI pilot testing project. For the 12 high schools that completed the pilot testing program during the 2010−2011 school year,

• 3,189 students received HIV/STI prevention education and 2,188 students were tested.

• 289 students tested positive for an STI; 280 have received treatment thus far.

To help educate more students that weren't informed, like me,  CPS has built a policy for sexual outlets in school. Below is the new policy

http://policy.cps.k12.il.us/download.aspx?ID=57

Health Science Explorers LOVE Chicago!

(2014 ASM Health Science Explores Participants)

Hey guys!~Chicago is very exciting in the summer...not only for our program, but for our city as a whole. This summer HSE (Health Science Explorers) traveled to some great places! Like Loyola University, Northwestern University, The Planetarium, a Farmers Market and the list goes on!

At our trip to Loyola University, HSE had the privilege to view the beautiful campus, meet wonderful inspiring students who lived on campus, and also chatted with the admissions office about scholarships, requirements, and programs avalible for incoming freshman. We loved Loyola, also HSE had the oppurtunity to examine human femurs bones which was pretty cool. Dr.Grauer, a forensic anthropologist, was our host for the bone lab.

(Photo credit: HSE Devonte W.)

"While learning about their personal health they are also tackling how nutrition, disease, and socio-economics can affect their families and communities"

The  quote from above explains the our trip to the farmers market. HSE met and interviewed more than fifteen farmers from Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois. HSE asked questions like what made you become a farmer? Is farming a hobby? Can the food bought here be sold possibly in stores?  One Farmer explained the reason he participates in farmers market , because he love to make people happy, and also he only want to provide the BEST Foods for his customers. That was exactly what he did. Some foods sold there at the farmers markets are avalible in stores. Majority of the venders where family oriented . Visiting the Farmers market inspired hse to expand their brands , and hopefully one day one of our teens may join!

Raudel "Rudy" Rojas

My name is Raudel Rojas and I was born in Chicago, IL in the year 1997. Ever since I was little I  had a great and big family. When I was born I had two older brothers and now , in the year 2014, I have three younger brothers and my mom is currently pregnant! I'm currently in high school attending Lane Tech College Prep and I'm going to be a senior. This summer I once again joined the After School Matters Program so that I could, as last year, expand my horizons and like many others in this program, have a great experience learning about this world and my surroundings. 

Some key facts about me is that I love to play soccer as you can see from the picture to the left. This is a picture from the time I played with my high school and was put into an online newspaper! Another thing is that I loveeeee Mexican food with all my heart, especially Enchiladas Verdes! My favorite color is blue and I really enjoy watching Netflix and going out on dates with my girlfriend. 

When I grow up I hope to be a professional soccer player so I can accomplish one of my life long dreams which is to travel the world! Some of my favorite bands include Foo Fighters, Nirvana, My Chemical Romance, and many others. Something important to know about me is that before every soccer game I watch two videos. One of them is about being a goalkeeper and the other is one of my most mood changing songs that pumps me up for a game. 

   Inspirational Soccer Video & Music Video by Foo Fighters

So indecisive I can't even pick a title! A short biography about Celina

Hi everyone! My name is Celina and I am a very indecisive person. I am currently a junior at Whitney Young High School and I am already coming down with senioritis (you can't blame me, I went to this school as a 7th grader so I've been at this school for 5 years).  I always feel like there isn't enough time in a day for me to do everything I want. I watch a bunch of TV shows, I listen to a lot of music (my favorite band is Linkin Park), and I have a long list of books I want to read (100+) and it's hard to do all those things while also keeping up with school, attending extracurricular activities, and having a personal life but I try my best. I love organization but I'm very forgetful so I love to make lists. I have lists of shows I watch, artists I listen to plus that long list of books. I would feel incomplete without my lists. Some of my friends think that I'm a little OCD, and that is probably true. This is the first time that I have been in the Health Science Explorers program. I was interested in this program because I actually aspire to be a forensic pathologist in the future. Most people look at me weird when I tell them what I want to be when I'm older, but I'm really interested in this field. I'm really enjoying the days I spend in this program and I looking forward to each meeting. (:

By the way, I am also in the school drama club and I am the co-chief of the art crew since the fall of 2012 (we're in charge of the art for the play and we paint the set and we make the stage come alive using color!). You should definitely come check out my current school play, "Noises Off" which opens March 28, 2014 at 7:00 pm. It's a comedy!