Note: In the days leading up to graduation, we are profiling a number of seniors whose interests and accomplishments exemplify the many talents that make up the Class of 2008. These students and their classmates are ready to make an impact that extends far beyond Uni High. For the first portrait in this series, see Maritza Mestre's profile of Eunice How. For Laura Dripps' profile of Kumars Salehi, click here.

SEXUALITY, ERIN HAYES believes, affects every aspect of life.

“It impacts the basic health things that you tend to think about, [such as] pregnancy, whether you have STIs, how to deal with things like that,” says Hayes, a senior. “But it also impacts the way you behave, the way you wear your hair, who you hang out with, all sorts of things like that because of gender roles and the way that society deals with that.”

It was because of this belief, alongside her genuine interest in sexual health, that led Hayes to join Planned Parenthood’s Teen Awareness Group during the summer after her sophomore year, beginning what has been two years of working as a peer educator in sexual health and awareness.

When members of the Uni Class of 2006 Ben Erickson, Annie Fehrenbacher, and Shruti Purkayastha started the Sexual Health Awareness Group as a club at Uni, Hayes began attending the meetings. Her interest was so great that she wanted to know what more she could do, and Fehrenbacher directed her toward the local TAG group.

“I saw Annie doing this really great thing and educating the people around her, so I asked her what I could do more to get involved,” Hayes says. “I thought that being able to reach people in your age group who really need that information is really valuable.”

Planned Parenthood, which helps five million individuals each year, is the United States’ leading “women’s health care provider, educator, and advocate.” The nonprofit operates 860 locations nationwide.

Hayes’ involvement with the organization has consisted of one-on-one peer contacts, presenting to youth groups and in schools, organizing benefits, and even campaigning.

During the fall semester Hayes organized a benefit concert which featured local hip-hop artists such as the acclaimed Ugandan rapper Krukid. She described the event as “a cool way to integrate the local music scene and our cause — sexual health awareness” and a way to “get the word out and get a lot of people involved.”

This year she also involved herself in a day of action against Title V funding from the federal government. “Title V,” Hayes explains, “basically funds abstinence-only sex education.”

Hayes went around asking people to sign postcards calling for a rejection of Title V government funding and was impressed with how positive the response was.

“I thought it was really cool that people do care about it and are interested,” she says.

TAG itself is funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services' Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program and the Urbana City Social Services Funds. The goal of the group is to prevent teen pregnancy and help teens make responsible choices.

Champaign-Urbana’s TAG group consists of high school students from around the area. While the group is small, the impact that TAG has made on the community is unquestionably impressive.

“Our group this past year has reached over 2,000 people even though there are only 13 people in the group,” Hayes says.

While she recognizes that reducing unwanted pregnancy and preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections is an important goal for TAG, Hayes’ biggest aspiration is slightly different.

“One effect I hope my work can have on other people is to help us all become less judgmental and more conscious of where other people are coming from in life, and not making assumptions about other people. That’s something that I’ve gained a lot from this work and that I hope I can spread to other people.”

Though Hayes currently gets paid for being a peer advocate, she does not plan on going into a field of social work or medicine at the University of Illinois, which she will be attending next year. The reason?

“I simply think there are things that interest me more,” Hayes explains.

She would, however, be interested in pursuing something like her current work, whether it be volunteer or paid.

“I know that the U of I has some sort of peer educator thing similar to what I do. I have the training and the information, so there is no reason to stop helping people with that,” Hayes says.

Looking toward the future, when she will no longer be working for TAG (although she plans to “drop in” every once in a while), Hayes hopes to involve herself in the Campaign for Comprehensive Sexuality Education, a local group that works with school boards and health teachers to provide them with comprehensive curricula, and GCAP, the Greater Community AIDS Project.

Hayes believes there will always be a need for the work that individuals at Planned Parenthood and TAG do, for there will always be a need for comprehensive sex education in communities.

“I think that the most important thing that we do is to try and give people the tools to make informed decisions for themselves,” she says. “We can’t necessarily impact what people are going to do, we can’t force them to make the decision that we think is the right thing to do, but I think that the most important thing that we do is to give them information, give them education, and give them a basis upon which they can make decisions.”