Faces of the Door

"The Door paved the path to my future..."

Steven is a familiar face in The Door's Adolescent Health Center (AHC) where he has worked in one way or another ever since he came here five years ago to be a peer educator for Teens Against Sexual Ignorance, or TASI.

Even though he found it hard at first — "like school!" — Steven soon understood the value of teaching and learning from your peers. "When I started, I was getting bad grades; my parents told me to work harder and do better. But it was the other peer educators who really got me, saying 'you need to participate and do well in school.' So I did!"

As a young, male educator, Steven was truly unique — he was one of the only males involved in the program! He soon became the youngest male intern in the history of the AHC, helping the resident doctor provide initial tests for patients, like blood pressure screenings and measuring weight and height. Now as a senior peer educator, he leads workshops throughout The Door and helps manage a group twice the size of what it was when he started, where males outnumber females.

One shining moment was when a member of the Centers for Disease Control visited The Door and was so impressed with TASI and Steven's work that she invited him to their headquarters in Atlanta to present to national program officers. The Door supported Steven and his parents to travel there for the occasion.

"That was one of the greatest moments of my life," says Steven. "It showed me the importance of working hard and being a good person. If you do that, people will have your name in their head when opportunity comes knocking."

Now Steven is in his second year of college where he is learning that access to so many opportunities can be both exciting and overwhelming. "When I first came to The Door, I couldn't see myself past next week," says Steven. "Now, because of everything I've been exposed to, I see myself past high school, past college. I can see myself as a doctor or a teacher or as president! I just see myself reaching and helping so many people," he says.