"Starting in the eighth grade and continuing through high school, the SNEAKERS program could not have come at a better time. During those years, life was hard to understand. We were all trying to learn who we were and to embrace and love ourselves. Participants in our group represented a variety of backgrounds and life circumstances. We learned to care for and be considerate of one another as we demystified the stories we heard about relationships, sex and being a teenage girl. SNEAKERS was the place where, with the support of a caring, non-judgmental adult, we could talk about that and get real answers and suggestions on how to handle life. We learned to be loving, responsible, reliable, confident women who make healthy life choices and have a network of friends who will see us through the hard times. I am now working toward a Bachelors degree in Justice, Law and Society at American University."