DAILY NEWS PEOPLE : BRENDA CASTANEDA.Byline: - Andrea Hescheles She's young, energetic and driven by a passion to help the teens in her community. Brenda Castaneda, who has thrown her efforts into peer counseling, calls it ``lending an ear.'' ``The way I work with teens makes a big difference. I talk to teens every day who are really scared. After I talk to them, their attitude seems to change toward their situation,'' she said. Castaneda is also editor of the school newspaper, plays on the varsity soccer and softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' teams, participates in the Latin and Italian clubs and is in the Honor Society honor society n. An organization to which students are admitted in recognition of academic achievement. . ``Some days I say to myself, `Why do I do it all?' and other days I know why. It's all worth it.'' AGE: 17 RESIDENCE: North Hollywood. BORN AND RAISED IN: Born in Granada Hills and raised in North Hollywood. OCCUPATION: Senior at North Hollywood High School North Hollywood High School, originally called Lankershim High School when it opened in 1927, is a secondary school in North Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. The school mascot is the husky, and the school colors are blue, white, grey. . VOLUNTEERISM vol·un·teer·ism n. Use of or reliance on volunteers, especially to perform social or educational work in communities. volunteerism : Brenda began 18 months ago working as a peer health educator and a teen listener for the Teen Reproductive Health Within the framework of WHO's definition of health[1] as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, reproductive health, or sexual health/hygiene Help Line. The Help Line is staffed by older teens who have been trained to provide callers with information and clinic referrals, and there is a licensed social worker at the site at all times to assist with any crisis calls. ``As a peer health educator, one of my main objectives is to educate teens about reproductive health issues such as pregnancy prevention, HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome awareness, anatomy and physiology physiology (fĭzēŏl`əjē), study of the normal functioning of animals and plants during life and of the activities by which life is maintained and transmitted. It is based fundamentally on the activities of protoplasm. , and relationship counseling Relationship counseling is the process of counseling the parties of a relationship in an effort to recognize and to better manage or reconcile troublesome differences and repeating patterns of distress. . ``Interacting with teen-agers at Valley Community Clinic and through the Teen Reproductive Health Help Line allows me to help them deal with their issues in a confidential session free of judgment. I know that I am providing them with a very important and necessary service, while at the same time I am learning so much from them.'' HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED?: ``I got involved through my school. A peer health counselor came to my health class, and we talked about how we could outreach to teens in our school to get them to go get services at the clinic.'' WHY DO YOU VOLUNTEER?: ``I believe that it is our responsibility to give back to our community and help to make it a better one.'' BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: ``My biggest disappointment is when I don't feel I did enough, when I know I should have done a little more to make sure everything is all right. I know when I want something done, I want 110 percent of what I'm asking for.'' GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: ``I've had lots of great character-building experiences. Working at the clinic is definitely a great accomplishment. I love making a positive difference in people's lives.'' GOALS FOR THE FUTURE: ``I'm a senior now, and I plan to go off to college, become a lawyer and work with laws that relate to family planning family planning Use of measures designed to regulate the number and spacing of children within a family, largely to curb population growth and ensure each family’s access to limited resources. and to do what I'm still doing - giving back to my community.'' WHO RELIES ON YOU THE MOST AND WHO YOU RELY ON: ``Anybody I come into contact with at work and at home. They rely on me to give them my best. I rely on God. I rely on him to give me strength.'' ROLE MODELS: ``People who play sports are great, but I don't see them as role models.'' Instead, Castaneda looks up to the people in her everyday life who are worth emulating - her family and friends. HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?: ``People have various definitions of success. I think there is no real rubric RUBRIC, civil law. The title or inscription of any law or statute, because the copyists formerly drew and painted the title of laws and statutes rubro colore, in red letters. Ayl. Pand. B. 1, t. 8; Diet. do Juris. h.t. to success. Anything that is positive is successful.'' VALLEY HANGOUTS: ``The clinic. I like working with a lot of other teens, all doing the same thing. And you can talk to others who work with you.'' WHAT WOULD BE A PERFECT DAY FOR YOU?: ``Lots of rest!'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Brenda Castaneda Gus Ruelas/Daily News |
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