Hey, I’m Jenna and I’m one of the Young Leaders on the London Board. I first heard about the Terrence Higgins Trust and the opportunity to become a board member through some information sent out by Girlguiding UK’s ‘4’, a Peer Education Initiative.

It sounded like a great idea, the idea that you would be learning all about sex and relationships which would not only benefit myself but would also mean I could help my friends and other young people I came into contact with. I would also be getting to know new people and hopefully learn a little bit more about myself on the way.

I was invited along to the open day by Camilla, the Young Leaders Participation Officer and got to meet everybody else who had heard about it through various ways. The original board, Board 1, were there and they told us a lot about how they had heard about it and what they had got out of it. It sounded like something I would really enjoy.

After that we were told a little more about what being a Young Leader would involve, the commitments we would need to make and what we would get out of it, for example, being a Young Leader means that we come out with an OCN accreditation, which looks great on your CV as well as your personal statement for university. After going to our ‘open day’, we were invited back for the ‘second stage’ if we were really interested in becoming part of the Board where we did lots more activities relating to sexual health and relationships as well as ice-breakers and team-building games. It was really good fun and when leaving, I really hoped that I would be successful.

Camilla confirmed I’d been accepted onto the board a couple of weeks later and I was thrilled. Everyone else who had been selected was really excited and we got to know each other really well over the next couple of board meetings where we began our accreditation. Since we all get on really well, we have a really good laugh at the meeting, joking around as well as discussing important things, with a few games and activities in the middle.

We went on a residential with the other boards across the country as well as the National Board which has a couple of representatives from each of the boards. We participated in loads of activities and got to know loads of other people, who had joined their boards for the same reasons as us. The weekend was great fun, we also did rock-climbing and team-building activities which were helpful as well as very entertaining and amusing to watch, as well as being occasionally embarrassing!!

The best thing about being a Young Leader is knowing that you can and are making a difference. For me personally, knowing that I’ve been able to help my friends in various ways with any problems they may have, regarding sex and relationships, as well as other young people in a Girlguiding  capacity is the best thing in the world because although it may not be a big difference, it’s a difference none the less.

Being a Young Leader has made a massive difference to me and I would recommend it to anyone. The chance to learn alongside people you will get to know really well is great and weekly meetings are enjoyable as well as educational. We have interactive discussions and debates as well as good-natured laughs.