Isabela Escalona

Isabela Escalona —2016 Fellow

Year: Class of 2018
Majors: International Studies and Political Science
Organization: Red Door Services

This summer I had the opportunity to work with the Red Door Services in Minneapolis for my Chuck Green Civic Engagement Fellowship. The Red Door provides many services including same-day HIV testing, STI testing, vaccinations, syringe disposal, counseling, and sexual education aimed at high risk populations. It is also committed to providing low-cost services and  accommodate those without health insurance.

For my project, I focused on expanding sexual education in the Latinx community by partnering with several secondary organizations, including Women’s Initiative for Self-Empowerment (WISE) and Casa de Esperanza. Both of these organizations are committed to strengthening the Latinx community and other immigrant/refugee communities through youth programming that encourages personal-development and leadership. Through their summer programming, I was able to use the resources from the Red Door along with my knowledge from Macalester sexual health program to create curriculum surrounding topics including sexual health, consent, healthy relationships, sexual harassment, gender identity, and sexuality.

One of the most important skills I gained through the Fellowship is the ability to approach an organization with an idea. After pitching my idea to so many potential partners, I feel much more comfortable and confident to initiate and propose my ideas in the future. Additionally, I was able to continue practicing conversations with youth surrounding difficult content such as sexual violence, homophobia, sexism, and more. We engaged in many uncomfortable and awkward conversations, however, the participants contributed more than I expected and I left each session with a mutual sense of empowerment and personal growth.