At 12 years old, Danielle LeePow was warning girls about risky sexual behavior. She knew the danger of HIV/AIDs because her mom worked at AID Atlanta.
Now at 17, Danielle decided to examine the reasons why some girls are more likely to engage in sexual activity.
She designed a survey and polled 327 African-American teen girls across metro Atlanta. Then she looked for a link between sex and self-esteem.
The project was recently named a national finalist in the Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She won a $15,000 scholarship that she plans to use this fall at either Howard University or the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
Here, Danielle talks about what she's learned.
"I asked girls: Are you a person of worth? Girls who disagreed with that statement were more likely to be engaging in sexual behavior."
"I've learned that a lot of young people think that HIV/AIDS is an epidemic that cannot effect them. But I try to educate them that AIDS can affect all ages, all races, all sexualities, all genders. It's not a disease that discriminates."
"I learned that self-esteem is influenced by body image and how girls see themselves and how they are viewed by society. Girls feel pressure, and girls need to understand that body image is just one way that people view them."
"Parents need to talk to their daughters and remind them that they are beautiful and they are important."
"I've learned it's important for parents to simply spend time with their kids."
"I don't judge teens about sex as long as they are being cautious and safe and not going into anything blindly."
Copyright 2008 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution