HiTOPS Thanks our Volunteers

This summer, HiTOPS had the privilege of working with four interns from area schools and colleges on a variety of tasks. Research projects were designed based on questions arising from strategic planning or to support HiTOPS evaluation efforts. Meet these extraordinary young people and learn about their projects.

My name is Omoshalewa and I am a rising senior at Princeton University where I major in Psychology and am pursuing a Neuroscience certificate. During my internship with HiTOPS this summer, I worked on a project compiling information on adolescent primary care sites around the country. This was part of an effort for HiTOPS to begin networking with other adolescent health centers recognized by the National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health. Aside from being able to help HiTOPS, during this experience I was able to learn more about the way that teens currently receive care in the United States and how the adolescent care model has been changing over time. In addition to learning more about how HiTOPS operates, this was a great opportunity for me to help out, knowing that what I was doing was contributing to a good cause.



My name is Meghan Casey and I’m going to be a junior psychology major at LaSalle University. My project was to research national and NJ trends in teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, STD/STIs, and alcohol and drug abuse. Through my research I was able to find that teen pregnancy is on the rise all across America but New Jersey still remains one of four states with the lowest teenage birth rates in the country. With that said, NJ is one of four states with the highest abortion rates. HIV/AIDS is infecting approximately 40,000 men and women each year; the number of women living with HIV/AIDS has tripled in the last two decades. As of 2009 in NJ 35% of women are living with HIV/AIDS and 62% of those women are between the ages of 20 and 49. America has seen a recent decrease in alcohol and drug abuse among teenagers but has seen a spike in increased use of prescription pain medications. I’ve really enjoyed working with HiTOPS on this project.


My name is Aubrey, I graduated from Brown University in May 2010 and am getting my masters in social work in the fall at Boston University. I focused on two major projects as a summer intern. My first project was to examine the impact of an adolescent health center in reducing the rates of STI/STDs, HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, and substance abuse. I compared statistics of Mercer County, NJ with Durham County, NC, which has similar demographics but lacks an adolescent health center (such as HiTOPS). In my report, I found that Mercer County had lower rates of STI/STDs, HIV/AIDS, and teen pregnancy, when compared to Durham County (the information on substance abuse was too scarce to draw a conclusion). My second project was to reach out to Rape Crisis Centers, Women’s Centers, etc., and offer them an opportunity to purchase the rape prevention curriculum, titled “One by One: Teens Explore Date Rape,” designed by Elizabeth Walters (Director of Education Programs at HiTOPS) and Christopher Floor. I really enjoyed interning at HiTOPS and am grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of an organization that has such an impact in the community.

My name is Ashley Higginson and I am a rising senior at Princeton University. I am a politics major and run both cross country and track for the Princeton Tigers varsity teams. A program called the Community Based Learning Imitative paired me with HiTOPS and it has been such a rewarding experience. Other then organizational and other helpful intern tasks, a large part of my time was spent on a research project, where I assessed and gathered data about adolescents in the South Brunswick High School zoning area that are HiTOPS patients. Every year, the numbers of patients from this area to the Health Center continues to grow. The results showed that the Teen PEP program was the reason over 52% of patients from the South Brunswick High School area ended up at HiTOPS, a very rewarding statistic! Also, I deduced other conclusions, such as the importance of teens having close proximity to a Health Center, the health seeking behavior of different races and genders, and the growing number of adolescents over the age of 18 who are out of high school and need HiTOPS care. After assessing three fiscal years of patients, I put the data together in different demographic and statistical graphs to create a report on the role of South Brunswick clients at the Health Center and thoughts for the future of the HiTOPS Health Center. I really hope my 10 weeks here can be a big help to the HiTOPS mission and the growth of this amazing organization.

Volunteers are valuable “hands” that help HiTOPS carry out its mission—to promote adolescent health and well-being. To learn more about volunteer opportunities at HiTOPS, email cvaucher@hitops.org.

(L-R): Aubrey Fitzpatrick, Anita Gooding, Development Associate at HiTOPS, Ashley Higgins, John Parker, Meghan Casey, Gisela Moore, Omoshalewa Bamkole and Jennifer Chung

H-i-T-O-P-S. What does it stand for?

What does HiTOPS stand for anyway? Do you know?

a. Hopeful Incredible Teens Offer Positive Solutions
b. Health Interested Teens Own Program on Sexuality
c. Happy Intelligent Teens Offer Popular Skits
d. Heroic Impeccable Teens Orchestrate Puberty Safely

While “all of the above” could describe HiTOPS, you are correct if you selected “b.”

Twenty two years ago, Health Interested Teens Own Program on Sexuality began focusing on educating high school age teens. What you may not know, is that HiTOPS has expanded its reach to pre-adolescents and emerging adults. The largest population to benefit from HiTOPS’ educational programs is middle school students ages 11-14. Last year nearly 4,000 students benefited from classes on puberty, healthy and unhealthy relationships, cyberbullying and sexual harassment prevention. Parents of pre-adolescents are seeking HiTOPS’ expertise to help prevent problems before they arise by increasing family-communication and promoting healthy decision-making.

HiTOPS’ Center for Adolescent Health is serving the other end of the adolescent age spectrum. The Center, located in Princeton, was founded to provide confidential health services to adolescents ages 13-26. Of the 814 clients served last year 89% were ages 17 and up, 62% are 19 and older. College students from multiple counties come to HiTOPS for a variety of health needs. In some cases, the health care they receive from HiTOPS is the only health care they receive from any source during their latter adolescence and young adult years. For more information or to contact the Center, call 609-683-5155 ext. 211.

Teens, Gotta Love 'Em

Teens are often portrayed as back-talking, eye-rolling, insubordinate sloths. Media reinforces the idea that teens are running wild and can’t be trusted, leading to an impression that teenagers are scary, uncontrollable and manipulative.

Those of us who work closely with teenagers typically see a different picture. While it is true that teens have some limitations related to normal development, experience and maturity, they are capable of making good decisions when they are given clear information and support.

Developmentally, teens lack the ability to understand some of the consequences of their behavior. Teen brains need context, repetition and reinforcement to support memory and learning. A teenager’s emotional intelligence may not be fully formed to clearly articulate their needs and feelings. To address these teen characteristics the staff at HiTOPS has developed certain skills to help young people succeed.

Teens need adults in their lives who mentor, guide, support and care for and about them. Here are some guidelines for communicating with the teens in your life.

• Listen to teens and really hear their feelings, needs and concerns.

• Ask open-ended questions such as “how did you feel when your friend said that?” “What ideas do you have for solving that problem?” “What about this situation makes you most angry,afraid, excited, happy?”

• Speak with teens and not to them.
a) Empower them to think of solutions and offer support and guidance, rather
than rules
b) Expect teens to work hard, have high standards and provide support
c) Reward effort all along the way; everyone needs positive reinforcement when
a task is hard.

• Be willing to explain the steps of a process, slowly and clearly, and not in an exasperated or condescending way.

For more tips, call 609-683-5155 ext. 215, or email ecasparian@hitops.org.