Making the Difference.

My name is Amanda Combs and I am a sophomore advertising major. I am also involved in the Drury orchestra as well as the Drury/ Springfield Civic Orchestra.

This year I am living in the Drury Summit Leadership housing development working in partnership with Planned Parenthood. We call ourselves Panthers for Planned Parenthood. As a freshman living in Sunderland last year I had my own room and shared a bathroom with one other girl (which happened to be Stephanie). Looking into my housing options I became really interested in the Summit housing development because it was a chance to become involved in the Springfield community. Our summit house chose to work in partnership with Planned Parenthood in order to educate the Drury campus on sexual health. There are many risks involved with sexual practices as well as general sexual health that many college aged students are not fully aware of and sometimes ignore. We hope to prevent the spread of sexual diseases and promote testing for preventable illnesses, as well as helping students identify their risk for hereditary illnesses with unknown causes.

I hope to gain a sense of purpose from our Summit project. Planned Parenthood is often associated with the social stigma that their sole purpose is for abortions. The Planned Parenthoods in the Springfield area do not even perform abortion services. I hope to help Plan Parenthood gain a more respectable title on the Drury campus as well as promote Drury students to gain a comfortable nature in regards to knowing facilities they can go to in order to receive the care that they may require.

In September our house plans on spreading awareness of ovarian cancer around campus by painting the campus teal. We will tie teal ribbons to trees as well as handing them out to students. In September we would love for everyone to bring out their favorite teal attire to support Ovarian Cancer Awareness.

Know your risk.

Amanda