Alexandra Balzer, 23
Let's talk about sex | SHAPE outreach coordinator
 

Story by Alex Luft
Video by Caroline Zilk
Photo by Liana Cecil

Alexandra Balzer earned the gratitude of many MU students last February when she brought them “The Female Orgasm” — an educational forum with guest speakers, open discussion and a strong finish in mind. Both male and female students packed into MU’s Memorial Union to get a piece of the action. Balzer, the outreach coordinator for MU’s Sexual Health Advocate Peer Eduction program, was in charge.

For Balzer, who is pursuing her master’s degree in counseling psychology, sex education goes beyond the basics of anatomy. “I take an enjoyment focus,” she says. “I like to see people get excited about not only protecting themselves and respecting themselves but also enjoying their sexuality.”

SHAPE Curriculum Coordinator Heather Eastman-Mueller says Balzer is passionate and detail-oriented. “The event was a huge success with over 700 attendees,” Eastman-Mueller says. “Feedback from students was that it was a great event, and they wanted more.”

Balzer is eager to enlighten and educate the people around her. “I was raised with abstinence-only education and have seen a lot of negative results.”She says the lack of information that she and her friends received in private schools has the potential to lead to pregnancy and preventable disease.

She says she enjoys answering the questions MU students are eager to ask. “They usually say: ‘This is what I heard. Can you tell me if it’s true?’” Balzer says students have a genuine interest in sexual education. In addition to providing information, she spearheads sex-ed initiatives such as MU’s Sexual Responsibility Week to create an open dialogue about sex on campus. “There are prevalent ideas out there about what college students are supposed to be doing, so sex-ed information is important to have.”