Happy Holidays! Today we have a special episode for you: reading student question cards! Each session, we give our students index cards to write questions anonymously, which we later answer with the class. This is one of the students' favorite activities because asking their questions anonymously allows them to still get the information they are needing without the spotlight. Join Aicha, Kathy and new special guest Hana in answering some of these real questions we have gotten from previous sessions.

-->Follow us on social media @Teen emPower! on Facebook and Instagram and our SHAPE program @shape.tei on Instagram

-->Check out our TikTok @teenempowerinc.

Start the Talks Podcast is presented by Teen emPower! Inc. with theme and background music from Prismatica in Apple GarageBand and Bensound.com with editing done by Aicha Diop. This podcast was supported by Award No. 1 TP1AH000240-01-00 from the Office of Populations Affairs. Teen emPower! Is a registered 501c3 Nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower, educate, and motivate adolescents to make informed decisions for their sexual health.

*DISCLAIMER* This is not meant to represent every aspect of Teen emPower! and some specifics were purposely left out for sake of time. If you have any questions, please feel free to reference our website, https://teenempower.org/ where we have more in depth information, or reach out to us at info@teenempower.org ! This episode is not meant to be used as a reference point for our entire organization and should only be used to hear about some of the great things Teen emPower! is doing for our community. Thank you.

Today we are joined, once again, by the fabulous health educator, Lilly. Lilly walks us through what it's like teaching sexual health education with Teen emPower!. She talks about prepping for classes, what it's like to teach, and even her tasks when she's not in the classroom. 

-->Follow us on social media @Teen emPower! on Facebook and Instagram and our SHAPE program @shape.tei on Instagram

-->Check out our TikTok @teenempowerinc.

Start the Talks Podcast is presented by Teen emPower! Inc. with theme and background music from Prismatica in Apple GarageBand and Bensound.com with editing done by Aicha Diop. This podcast was supported by Award No. 1 TP1AH000240-01-00 from the Office of Populations Affairs. Teen emPower! Is a registered 501c3 Nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower, educate, and motivate adolescents to make informed decisions for their sexual health.

*DISCLAIMER* This is not meant to represent every aspect of Teen emPower! and some specifics were purposely left out for sake of time. If you have any questions, please feel free to reference our website, https://teenempower.org/ where we have more in depth information, or reach out to us at info@teenempower.org ! This episode is not meant to be used as a reference point for our entire organization and should only be used to hear about some of the great things Teen emPower! is doing for our community. Thank you.

Today on Start the Talks, we are discussing all things contraception (birth control) with Dr. Sara Cole, a sexuality professor at the University of Central Oklahoma. Dr. Cole holds a PhD in Health Behavior, Health Promotion, and Human Sexuality and is a Master Certified Health Education Specialist. Having studied human sexuality  at great lengths, she is our expert on today's episode. Join us as we cover different types of birth control, how they work, and what to consider when choosing which one is right for you!

-->Follow us on social media @Teen emPower! on Facebook and Instagram and our SHAPE program @shape.tei on Instagram

-->Check out our TikTok @teenempowerinc.

Start the Talks Podcast is presented by Teen emPower! Inc. with theme and background music from Prismatica in Apple GarageBand and Bensound.com with editing done by Aicha Diop. This podcast was supported by Award No. 1 TP1AH000240-01-00 from the Office of Populations Affairs. Teen emPower! Is a registered 501c3 Nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower, educate, and motivate adolescents to make informed decisions for their sexual health.

*DISCLAIMER* This is not meant to represent every aspect of Teen emPower! and some specifics were purposely left out for sake of time. If you have any questions, please feel free to reference our website, https://teenempower.org/ where we have more in depth information, or reach out to us at info@teenempower.org ! This episode is not meant to be used as a reference point for our entire organization and should only be used to hear about some of the great things Teen emPower! is doing for our community. Thank you.

Welcome back to Start the Talks! Today we are covering everything you need to know about STIs. Terry Dennison, a Human Sexuality professor at the University of Oklahoma, has joined us to provide all the insight on all sorts of STIs. We discuss everything from signs/symptoms, to transmission, to treatment. Stay turned for our next episode on contraception with another special guest.  

--> Get your PrEP: https://readysetprep.hiv.gov/

--> Free, 24hr help service in Oklahoma: dial 211

--> Teen Friendly clinic in Oklahoma, Teen Clinic by Variety Care: https://varietycare.org/services/teen-clinic

-->Follow us on social media @Teen emPower! on Facebook and Instagram and our SHAPE program @shape.tei on Instagram

-->Check out our TikTok @teenempowerinc.

Start the Talks Podcast is presented by Teen emPower! Inc. with theme and background music from Prismatica in Apple GarageBand and Bensound.com with editing done by Aicha Diop. This podcast was supported by Award No. 1 TP1AH000240-01-00 from the Office of Populations Affairs. Teen emPower! Is a registered 501c3 Nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower, educate, and motivate adolescents to make informed decisions for their sexual health.

*DISCLAIMER* This is not meant to represent every aspect of Teen emPower! and some specifics were purposely left out for sake of time. If you have any questions, please feel free to reference our website, https://teenempower.org/ where we have more in depth information, or reach out to us at info@teenempower.org ! This episode is not meant to be used as a reference point for our entire organization and should only be used to hear about some of the great things Teen emPower! is doing for our community. Thank you.s. We cover everything from the STI itself, its treatment and more! 

Ever wanted to hear from our host teachers? Well here is your chance! As a reminder, Teen emPower! is a non-profit organization that sends sexual health educators into schools for a few weeks to implement our programs. Part of this process is taking over the current teachers classroom. We like to call these lovely educators "host teachers" for so graciously hosting us and our lessons. Ms. Hanne is a seasoned Teen emPower! host teacher, advocate and partner. In this interview, we get to know her, all her amazing contributions she has made to our organization, and what it's like to be a host teacher with us. Shout out to Ashley Hanne and all that she does! 

-->Follow us on social media @Teen emPower! on Facebook and Instagram and our SHAPE program @shape.tei on Instagram

-->Check out our TikTok @teenempowerinc.

Start the Talks Podcast is presented by Teen emPower! Inc. with theme and background music from Prismatica in Apple GarageBand and Bensound.com with editing done by Aicha Diop. This podcast was supported by Award No. 1 TP1AH000240-01-00 from the Office of Populations Affairs. Teen emPower! Is a registered 501c3 Nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower, educate, and motivate adolescents to make informed decisions for their sexual health.

*DISCLAIMER* This is not meant to represent every aspect of Teen emPower! and some specifics were purposely left out for sake of time. If you have any questions, please feel free to reference our website, https://teenempower.org/ where we have more in depth information, or reach out to us at info@teenempower.org ! This episode is not meant to be used as a reference point for our entire organization and should only be used to hear about some of the great things Teen emPower! is doing for our community. Thank you.

In today's episode we are covering our amazing peer education program, SHAPE! SHAPE stands for Sexual Health and Peer Education. Here at Teen emPower! we have adapted a peer education program specific to our organizations mission to empower, educate, and motivate adolescents to make informed decisions for their sexual health. We cover everything from our model to the lessons taken into the classrooms. 

-->Follow us on social media @Teen emPower! on Facebook and Instagram and our SHAPE program @shape.tei on Instagram

-->Check out our TikTok @teenempowerinc.

--> Check out Riversport at https://www.riversportokc.org/ and Elevate Theater Company at https://elevatetheatrecompany.com/ 

--> Resources referenced in episode: Research to Prevention publication on Peer Education, https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm&ogbl#sent/QgrcJHsNjpXCzxxpdzPFtHwfNrtvjSSKGwV?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1 

Start the Talks Podcast is presented by Teen emPower! Inc. with theme and background music from Prismatica in Apple GarageBand and Bensound.com with editing done by Aicha Diop. This podcast was supported by Award No. 1 TP1AH000240-01-00 from the Office of Populations Affairs. Teen emPower! Is a registered 501c3 Nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower, educate, and motivate adolescents to make informed decisions for their sexual health.

*DISCLAIMER* This is not meant to represent every aspect of Teen emPower! and some specifics were purposely left out for sake of time. If you have any questions, please feel free to reference our website, https://teenempower.org/ where we have more in depth information, or reach out to us at info@teenempower.org ! This episode is not meant to be used as a reference point for our entire organization and should only be used to hear about some of the great things Teen emPower! is doing for our community. Thank you.

"Our mission is to empower, educate, and motivate adolescents to make informed decisions for their sexual health" - Teen emPower! mission statement. In this episode we are discussing our purpose here at Teen emPower!. We will be talking with our founder, Kathy Harms, to get the inside scoop on why she started this organization and our mission. We will also talk with our Education Supervisor, Kimberly Molitor, about the curricula we teach! Stay tuned for the next episode for more information on our peer education program. 

-->Follow us on social media @Teen emPower! on Facebook and Instagram

-->Check out our TikTok @teenempowerinc.

Start the Talks Podcast is presented by Teen emPower! Inc. with theme and background music from Prismatica in Apple GarageBand and Bensound.com with editing done by Aicha Diop. This podcast was supported by Award No. 1 TP1AH000240-01-00 from the Office of Populations Affairs. Teen emPower! Is a registered 501c3 Nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower, educate, and motivate adolescents to make informed decisions for their sexual health.

*DISCLAIMER* This is not meant to represent every aspect of Teen emPower! and some specifics were purposely left out for sake of time. If you have any questions, please feel free to reference our website a thttps://teenempower.org/ , where we have more in depth information, or reach out to us at info@teenempower.org ! This episode is not meant to be used as a reference point for our entire organization and should only be used to hear about some of the great things Teen emPower! is doing for our community. Thank you.

Welcome to our very first episode! Today our host, Aicha and co host, Lilly will be giving you a brief overview of our amazing organization. We talk about some of our programs and curricula that we teach as well as the impact Teen emPower! is making in our community. This episode is full of great information about who we are and what we do, however, more specifics can be found by visiting our website https://teenempower.org/!

-->Follow us on social media @Teen emPower! on Facebook and Instagram

-->Check out our TikTok @teenempowerinc. 

Start the Talks Podcast is presented by Teen emPower! Inc. with theme and background music from Prismatica in Apple GarageBand and Bensound.com with editing done by Aicha Diop. This podcast was supported by Award No. 1 TP1AH000240-01-00 from the Office of Populations Affairs and from AmeriCorps. Teen emPower! Is a registered 501c3 Nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower, educate, and motivate adolescents to make informed decisions for their sexual health.

*DISCLAIMER* This is not meant to represent every aspect of Teen emPower! and some specifics were purposely left out for sake of time. If you have any questions, please feel free to reference our website, where we have more in depth information, or reach out to us at info@teenempower.org ! This episode is not meant to be used as a reference point for our entire organization and should only be used to hear about some of the great things Teen emPower! is doing for our community. Thank you.