Role Call: A #WomanCrushWednesday Recap

Real Women Who Inspire.

Real Women Who Inspire.

In honor of our tenth ‘Role Call‘ interview, a blog section featuring professional young women occupying diverse careers (and their advice to teens!), here is your chance to take a look back at the growing list of career role models who made the cut – and importantly, a recap of the life advice they wish they had received in high school.

Looking back, what general life advice would you give to your former high-school self?

Academia: “Chill out. I went to a super high stress high school, where I often joke everyone had to be the “Best ____” and that blank could be filled a million ways, English student, squash player, troublemaker, whatever (I was none of those). I think the times that I have struggled in my life are when some things were going awry, but I didn’t want anyone to know, so I refused to reach out for help. I’m still not great at that, and I think learning how to ask for help is a behavior/habit that we should develop earlier in our lives. Asking for help doesn’t mean that you are weak or dumb or less than, it just means you are strong and you want to improve.”

-Bernadette Doykos, Research Associate

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Sex Ed: Why The Bedroom Belongs in the Classroom

It's hard to make a pencil and sharpener look sexy but use your imagination here.

It’s hard to make a pencil and sharpener look sexy but use your imagination here.

There’s an interesting [read: incredibly dangerous] tension between teenagers who do not want to talk about sexual health with their teachers, teachers who often cannot inform students any further than an ineffective abstinence-only education, and the parents who threaten legal action when their children are introduced to the concept of intercourse as anything more than a marital, procreational act.

It’s completely understandable that teens feel squeamish about sex education in the classroom. Why? Teens get completely mixed messages. In the media, everyone is having very sexy sex. In the classroom, the lesson plans sound like they were created in a different century: sex is taboo, secretive, and illicit before marriage. Of course teens are clamming up in the classroom, feeling guilty about their actions after hours, and engaging in high-risk sexual activity regardless.

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Role Call: Real Women In Publishing

Christine is an Authors Relations Manager in Montreal, Canada.

Christine is an Author Relations Manager in Toronto, Canada.

Role Call is a Petal + Sass blog section featuring interviews with professional young women occupying diverse careers- and their advice to teens.

Name: Christine Munroe

Age: 30

College & major: McGill University (Montreal), English Literature (Minor in Sociology)

Graduate school & concentration: McGill University again, MA in English Literature

NYU School of Professional Studies, courses in Publishing and Creative Writing

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Love Letters: Sexual Pressure, Harassment and Rape

Love Letters

‘Love Letters’ is a Petal + Sass blog feature that regularly asks a group of diverse women in their 20’s and 30’s about their experiences with health, sex, emotional wellness, body image, college, careers – and what they wish they had known themselves as teenagers. Visit the Love Letters’ To My Former Self page to learn more about the contributors.

Question posed: Were you ever sexually harassed or pressured into engaging in sexual activity that you were uncomfortable with as a teenager? If so, how did you handle the situation? What would you advise a young person who was being pressured or harassed today?

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Role Call: Real Women in Writing

Sara is an English teacher in Connecticut.

Sara is an English teacher in Connecticut.

Role Call is a Petal + Sass blog section featuring interviews with professional young women occupying diverse careers- and their advice to teens.

Name: Sara Erdmann

Age: 32

College & major: Hamilton College ’05, Creative Writing major, French minor

Graduate school & concentration: University of New Hampshire, MFA in Writing
Binghamton University, PhD in Literature and Creative Writing

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HPV: Dodging The Common Cold of the Cervix

8 out of 10 people contract HPV in their lifetime.

8 out of 10 people contract HPV in their lifetime.

Chances are, if you have been sexually active in your lifetime, you have contracted (and likely spread) HPV (Human papillomavirus). No, not you? At least 8 out of 10 people will get or have already received a hearty helping of HPV. Most often it comes and goes without complication, but for many, HPV can become problematic if left untreated- especially for women.

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Role Call: Real Women in Health Care

Melissa is a Physician Assistant in Boston.

Melissa is a Physician Assistant in Boston.

Role Call is a Petal + Sass blog section featuring interviews with professional young women occupying diverse careers- and their advice to teens.

Name: Melissa Ayala

Age: A solid 33.

College & major: MVCC, Florida Atlantic University, & Le Moyne College (A lot of transfers based on financial status), Biology/Pre-Med.

Graduate school & concentration: Le Moyne College, Physician Assistant Studies Masters.

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