{"612464":{"#nid":"612464","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Make a Difference as a VOICE Peer Educator","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EInterested in making a positive impact on Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s community? Apply to be a VOICE Peer Educator! VOICE Peer Educators are a\u0026nbsp;cohort of students who are committed to ending sexual violence on Georgia Tech\u0026#39;s campus.\u0026nbsp;They are extensively trained\u0026nbsp;on sexual violence prevention\u0026nbsp;topics such as defining consent, sexual violence prevention and bystander intervention, healthy relationships, and survivor support. They will learn behavior\u0026nbsp;change theory, effective public speaking, and\u0026nbsp;curriculum development.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECassie Bleick, a fourth-year Business Administration major entering into her third year as a peer educator, answered some questions about the program and its significance.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWhat inspired you to get involved with VOICE?\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI think just knowing this is such an important issue, that I\u0026rsquo;m passionate about from personal experiences and seeing friends go through it. It\u0026rsquo;s something close to my heart that I want to make people aware of.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ECan you tell me about peer educators? What does \u0026ldquo;peer education\u0026rdquo; look like?\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, we start with training. We\u0026rsquo;ll have Title IX coordinators come to talk about the administrative process, GTPD to talk about investigative process, speakers talk about sexual violence as a social justice issue\u0026mdash;we basically just dive deep.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter training we start doing tabling. We table for Take Back the Night, Healthy Relationships Week, and right now its Domestic Violence Awareness month, so there\u0026rsquo;s things going on for that. We also hosted a coffee talk last year near Valentine\u0026rsquo;s day, where people came in and we facilitated conversations on relationships. So education is really whatever it needs to be.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWe also give presentations for any organizations that request them. We do it to health classes, FASET, fraternities, and residence halls. We\u0026rsquo;re trying hard to reach out to student organizations. We cover \u0026ldquo;What is sexual violence?\u0026rdquo;, consent, bystander intervention, and supporting survivors.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSfko_eKjO9zGL7k9CZ5xL22f67ycMUdBItUcVPGSnmBKBlmRA\/viewform\u0022\u003EOrganizations can request a presentation through a google form.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EHow has your confidence grown (public speaker, leader on campus, within the movement)?\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI think I have grown to be a more engaged citizen. I have participated in lobbying, protests, and conferences. I gave a presentation an outside conference called RespectCon with one of my other peer educators.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENone of this is sponsored by VOICE. People within VOICE use our training outside the community. With VOICE training we understand legal rulings, what\u0026rsquo;s in place, what\u0026rsquo;s getting rolled back. We know the specifics. When people come and bring bills, we are able to read it and understand their effects.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWhy do you think VOICE peer education is important to the GT community?\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBecause we need someone talking about these issues. If you don\u0026rsquo;t talk about it, you\u0026rsquo;ll see the numbers go down and it\u0026rsquo;ll just get wiped under the table. We still know this happens on our campus. There\u0026rsquo;s a reason for conversations and presentations. VOICE is here to facilitate those conversations to make sure people realize this is prevalent in our community.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EHow do you think it\u0026rsquo;s more effective since peer educators are students, not adults?\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0026rsquo;s like having your mom tell you about sex. No one will listen, it\u0026rsquo;s awkward. But when it\u0026rsquo;s another student, you can connect and talk about hinges you\u0026rsquo;re going through. We realize that some of this happens with underage drinking. Where you may feel uncomfortable telling that to an adult, we have more camaraderie with the students.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWhy would you encourage people to apply to be a peer educator?\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u0026rsquo;re at all interested in this topic and want to make a difference and have the opportunity for fellowship, you should apply!\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBe a part of the conversation. Sexual violence is a pervasive social problem. Join VOICE in its goal to end sexual violence on Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s campus. Apply to be a peer educator and make a positive impact on the Georgia Tech community.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAll applicants will be contacted for an interview within a week of submitting their application\u0026nbsp;to be a part of VOICE. All applicants will be notified at least 72 hours after their interview. All applicants MUST reserve November 5th 6-9pm and November 12th 6-9pm for training. Training is mandatory.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInterested students can apply at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/healthinitiatives.gatech.edu\/voicepeered\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/healthinitiatives.gatech.edu\/voicepeered\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Interested in making a positive impact on Georgia Tech\u2019s community? Apply to be a VOICE Peer Educator!"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EInterested in making a positive impact on Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s community? Apply to be a VOICE Peer Educator!\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Interested in making a positive impact on Georgia Tech\u2019s community? Apply to be a VOICE Peer Educator!"}],"uid":"34604","created_gmt":"2018-10-08 16:02:27","changed_gmt":"2018-10-15 16:19:07","author":"Jessica Kolis","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-10-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2018-10-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"612463":{"id":"612463","type":"image","title":"Cassie","body":null,"created":"1539014398","gmt_created":"2018-10-08 15:59:58","changed":"1539014398","gmt_changed":"2018-10-08 15:59:58","alt":"picture of Cassie","file":{"fid":"233138","name":"Cassie.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Cassie.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Cassie.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1138899,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Cassie.png?itok=D2pZJqkn"}}},"media_ids":["612463"],"groups":[{"id":"428961","name":"Health and Well-Being"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"12533","name":"health promotion"},{"id":"167691","name":"sexual violence"},{"id":"4118","name":"prevention"},{"id":"179307","name":"peer education"},{"id":"10199","name":"Daily Digest"},{"id":"178819","name":"newsroom"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDeontez Wimbley\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nHealth Educator | Health Initiatives\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\ndeontez.wimbley@health.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["deontez.wimbley@health.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}