|
Margaret Matchin had been involved with the HIV Peer Test Counseling
team for two years before she stepped into her role as the coordinator
of the program through the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Internship
Program. When Margaret started out with the program, she had no
idea that it would change her life direction. Prior to working with
the program, Margaret enjoyed working as a campus tour guide and
an orientation leader. She was looking into law school as a path
for her future. But after a year of working with students one-on-one
with the many issues surrounding HIV infection, she realized that
she wanted to become a social worker.
Throughout the years, Margaret angled her studies in literature
and anthropology to assist her in understanding how people perceived
risk. In her role as a coordinator, Margaret spent meetings teaching
volunteers about the history of HIV, and the many dedicated people
who have worked with different communities and their response to
the AIDS crisis.
Margaret has taken the approach of harm reduction very seriously
and taught her counselors that their role was to make any positive
change they could, whether it was giving someone a pamphlet about
the Santa Cruz needle exchange or helping someone design an action
plan for safer sex. Many challenges could be answered by talking
with her two mentors, Jane Bogart, who had experience with the early
AIDS movement in New York City, and Meg Kobe, who had worked hard
with health promotion at UCSC and was familiar with the work necessary
to make things happen on the campus.
After graduation, Margaret intends to continue her work in HIV and
wishes to specialize in sex worker needs in the Bay Area of California.
She will be applying to MSW programs which will fine tune her skills
and help her in becoming a social worker.
|
