Abby Peoples: Health Adviser, former President of Turner House, senior anthropology major, sex education enthusiast
“I hate jelly beans,” declared Abby Peoples ’15, an anthropology major, former President of Turner House, one of Davidson’s finest Health Advisers, and this week’s Campus Celebrity. Rather than carrying handfuls of the popular Easter candy, Abby—who is planning Davidson’s first Sex Week this week, from March 30th to April 3rd—is more likely to be seen carrying an ample supply of condoms at any given moment, a testament to her passion and commitment to sex education.
A native to Cary, North Carolina, Abby was born in Durham—“My mom went to see the midwives there,” she noted—and immediately saw a second home in Davidson during her time in high school. “I’m that kid who went on a tour the summer after sophomore year [of high school]. Aggressive right? I applied Early Decision, and here I am today,” she said. At Davidson, Abby has cultivated a diverse array of interests—from environmentalism to anthropology to maternal care.
Abby Peoples: Condom Fairy
As the former President of Turner House, Abby is devoted to making Davidson’s social scene more inclusive. “I think it comes from awareness and work from a lot of communities. It’s the responsibility of everyone to listen to people when they say they are excluded and acknowledge their experiences are valid,” she said. A proponent of education as a tool in fostering an accepting environment through programs such as bystander and safe space training, Abby appreciates when different groups connect to host events, creating bonds outside the PCC environment.
Abby also stands as a role model for many first-year students at Davidson. As a Health Advisor, she performs in orientation skits for first-year students, likes to “harass people to get flu shots in the Union,” and often visits first-year halls to be a resource for students by helping them feel comfortable discussing a variety of health issues.
One of the ways Abby has pioneered maternal health awareness on campus is through doula training. Now a certified doula—a woman trained to assist another woman during childbirth—Abby received a grant with Meron Fessehaye ’16 and Joyelle Newton ‘15 through the Center for Civic Engagement to pursue this opportunity. She learned techniques for pain management and relief, the emotional and physical processes of birth, and pregnancy, birth, and postpartum information. As a doula, which means “female slave” in Latin, “you are the emotional support for a woman in labor. You talk to her, help her breathe through contractions, and help labor progress in the most efficient way possible,” said Abby. While many people may find birth a daunting process, Abby stated: “it doesn’t scare me. A doula can save seven hours! You want to save those seven hours—that’s a whole Davidson school day!”
Ultimately, Abby hopes her work in medicine and doula training will help her fulfill her dream of becoming an Ob-Gyn. This semester, her senior independent study on sex education culminates in Sex Week, a week of events and activities to promote education and awareness around issues of sex, sexual health, and sexuality. She hopes everyone on campus will participate.
Fitting with her vibrant and passionate personality, her spirit animal, according to good friend Haley DeLuca, would be a Portuguese Water Dog. Abby concurred: “They run and run and run and then they sleep.” When Abby isn’t running around campus, she enjoys listening to the new Azealia Banks album (Broke with Expensive Taste), playing the Avett Brothers—especially on road trips on I-40 to Asheville, and dreaming about living in Samoa again—where she studied abroad her junior fall. “I fell in love with living on an island and living in a perpetual summer,” she said.
Abby Peoples: Samoan Goddess
As a long-time North Carolina resident, Abby has always loved the beach. “My family has been going to the same beach for years—Holden Beach. Great place,” she enthused. When asked about her life philosophy, she said, “Do what makes you happy…as long as it doesn’t harm others,” and in terms of things that make her happy, Abby wouldn’t mind “living off pizza, because there are endless varieties.”
Luckily, it isn’t hard to get to know this week’s Campus Celebrity. “Come up and talk to me because I love to meet new people,” Abby urged. “I could talk to a wall if I had to…I’d rather not.” In particular, consider scoping out her favorite study spot on campus—a specific table on the Union Café level that juts out slightly behind a large pole, near the ordering station, a place simultaneously in the center of all things and artfully isolated. Abby calls it “the table in the sky.”
Have a question about sex, sexual health, or sexuality? Ask Abby and the other Health Advisers via the question box in the Union or at seXbox360.wildcathealth.com.