Vanessa is a member of the International Youth Leadership Council. 

Hello world- My name is Vanessa. I’m a senior at the University of Maryland, College Park and my interest in health and the well being of others has been a part of my character from a very young age.  This is why I entered the field of public health. Needless to say, I’m in love with it. My interest in helping those less fortunate came from my background. I am the child of two Haitian parents and I have seen the true meaning of poverty and grief. Traveling to Haiti since I was a child has opened my eyes to what needs to be done to help the poorest of the poor. In my effort to assist the impoverished, I created a project called The Support Haiti Project. In the first year, I collected clothes, shoes, basic necessities, food that aided about 70 people. As for advocacy nationally, I am a trip leader for alternative spring break. Last year my co-leader and I coordinated a trip to Atlanta where we explored the issue of homelessness and poverty among children.

Besides poverty and health, I am very devoted to reproductive rights and women’s issues. This is one of the reasons why I joined IYLC. Coming from an abstinence-only sex education system, I was often confused about issues related to sex. My schools were not teaching me anything I needed to know about safer sex. This lack of information kept me in fear and confusion. I am very committed to teaching young people about sex, the consequences, the diseases, and even the good parts! But my overall focus is to educate and spread knowledge so children are not making unsafe and even deadly decisions when it comes to sex and their bodies.

Another one of my loves is women’s issues! I run a young women’s group with girls ages 14-15. Here, we are able to discuss topics ranging from boys to body image to Harry Potter. I feel like the media today makes young women feel worthless and ugly. I am working to dispel this notion by reinforcing positive body image, positive self-talk, independence, and knowledge.

I truly believe that knowledge is contagious and we as individuals in society should take it upon ourselves to contaminate everyone we meet.