AIDS AMBASSADORS CHATSWORTH RESIDENT JOINS GROUP THAT TALKS TO TEENS ABOUT DISEASE.Byline: MARK KELLAM Valley News Writer In an effort to get the word out to teens about AIDS and HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. , high school students such as Olivia Clements of Chatsworth are volunteering their time to talk to high schoolers throughout Los Angeles. The AIDS Ambassadors program is under the auspices of the UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX AIDS Institute. The program started in 2004, training college undergraduates to talk to teens. It expanded to train high school students last August, said Enrique Rivero, media relations officer for the institute. Clements, a student at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, said she is passionate about sharing information about HIV and AIDS. ``We have this dreadful plague,'' said Clements, who will be a junior in the fall. ``I can't think of anything more important than keeping people alive.'' The ambassadors train during retreats where they learn about AIDS, which was discovered 25 years ago and has killed millions of people world-wide. When they visit area high schools, the ambassadors talk to students about issues such as HIV prevention, testing and how the virus is transmitted. Rivero said students at Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills High School (usually abbreviated as "Beverly" or as "BHHS") is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. (The other public high school in Beverly Hills, Moreno High School, is a small alternative school located on Beverly's campus. and Crenshaw High School Crenshaw High School is a secondary school located in South Los Angeles, California. The school first opened in 1968 and currently enrolls an average of 2,600 students. in Los Angeles have also been trained as ambassadors. Clements, who is the daughter of Matthew and Saundra Clements, is also starting a new initiative called ``Teens Stop Rape.'' She is supervising the creation of a Web site and DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. for high school workshops that will target adolescent males and try to get them to commit to a ``rape- free society,'' Clements said. At Crossroads, Clements is involved with the school's touring drama company. The group presents musicals such as ``Once On This Island'' and ``The Wiz'' at area juvenile detention centers, veterans' hospitals, centers for abused children, senior living facilities and centers for the mentally disabled mentally disabled See Cognitively impaired. . Academically, Clements received the Crossroads Upper School Award for Excellence in Physical Sciences (chemistry) and a Certificate of Honorable Merit, Maxima Cum Laude, on the National Latin Examination The National Latin Examination is a worldwide test given to Latin students. Sponsored by the American Classical League and the National Junior Classical League, the exam was given to more than 148,000 students in the U.S. this year. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Olivia Clements |
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