Denis Mahon

Denis Mahon knows good sex, and isn’t afraid to talk about it.
For a good cause, that is. The CGS sophomore recently joined the BU branch of the organization Peer Health Exchange, or PHE, which trains college students to teach sexual and mental health education to underprivileged students in urban public schools. According to Mahon, the Boston public school system does not provide their students with sexual health education, so volunteer programs like PHE are one of the few ways for high school students in the area to learn about things like sexually transmitted diseases, clinical depression, eating disorders, and methods of birth control.
“What we do is really important,” says Mahon. “The program started out a few years ago as just sexual health, but as people recognized the need for more topics to be covered PHE expanded the range of things that we teach kids to include mental health and nutrition as well.”The process of becoming a member of PHE to getting into the classroom is a long one. To be certified to teach in the classroom, members must complete a two-day orientation, complete an evaluation, and meet every Monday with an instructor. In these meetings, they’re given a curriculum of what they’ll be teaching their students, and practice teaching methods such as how to talk to students and how to manage a classroom. Through this rigorous training, Mahon has become something of an expert on some tough subjects.
“Going into it, I didn’t even know that much about mental health, but PHEgave me a whole new perspective on the issue,” says Mahon. “Like when we’re talking about suicide, we can’t say the phrase ‘attempted suicide,’ because it implies a conscious decision. ‘Died by suicide’ is what we say, because feelings of suicide are frequently caused by a mental illness, so the person can’t be blamed or held accountable for their actions. I would have never thought about it that way, and now it’s something I make sure to emphasize when I’m teaching.”
Trying to talk to a rowdy group of high school freshman about serious health issues is no easy task, but working in the classroom gives Mahon a sweet sense of satisfaction.
“I really love working with the students,” says Mahon. “There’s pretty much nowhere else that these kids are going to get the information that I’m telling them, and these issues are so important to teenagers. Knowing that I’m helping someone make more informed decisions about their health makes me feel like I’m doing something worthwhile.”
The BU branch of PHE is no longer accepting any applications at this time, but according to Mahon, they’ll be looking to recruit more teachers next year.
As for a future in public service, Mahon has recently decided to extend his commitment to helping others into his academics.
“I was an economics major, but I really hated it and met with an advisor the other day to switch to a health sciences major with a minor in public health. I don’t think I want to teach students forever, but I’m really passionate about public health issues.”
 
To learn more about PHE, check out http://www.peerhealthexchange.org/