Raising awareness

Barbara Cardell spoke to a CU audience about living with HIV. (CU Independent/Molly Maher)

Barbara Cardell is a 45-year-old woman. She’s married to a loving husband, lives in Boulder, and used to work as an executive chef.

She also happens to have the HIV virus.

“The most powerful thing to do is tell your story,” Cardell said.

In honor of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, Community Health held their free annual HIV testing event on Dec. 2, where Cardell shared her story about discovering she was HIV positive. The event consisted of a presentation on HIV/AIDS in Humanities 150 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., followed by testing in two other rooms in the building from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Community Health also offered free chair massages and aromatherapy.

Students can visit the group’s Web site for more information about free HIV testing on campus.

Three other HIV/AIDS awareness programs, BeadforLife, Africa Bags and the Zata Project, also participated at the function. Each program sells handmade African items and then donates all the proceeds to a specific HIV/AIDS cause.

The main goals of the event were to promote HIV testing and also raise the understanding of transmission, said Georgianne Cotton, a 21-year-old junior news-editorial major and student coordinator HIV tester at Community Health.

“I think a huge thing for us this year is getting knowledge out there,” Cotton said. “If people have HIV on their radar, they’re more likely to tested and make an impact on the health community.”

At the event, Cardell shared her story and her personal experiences with HIV in a conversational, confident manner.

Through laughter, as well as tears, she urged the audience to make smart choices and maintain healthy relationships.

“This disease, it stinks,” Cardell said. “It’s totally avoidable. Know your status and protect your partners. The one message you should take from this: get tested, get your friends tested, your friend’s friends tested, strangers, everyone.”

By bringing Cardell as a speaker, Community Health hoped to increase an understanding of HIV, according to Cotton.

“The goal behind [a speaker] is to put a relatable face to HIV and because the topic feels distant to a lot of people,” Cotton said.

Their attempt proved to be successful as students were moved by Cardell’s story and were inspired to have healthy relationships based on good communication, especially when talking about sex. Sebastian Adams, a 19-year-old music education major, was particularly touched by the presentation.

“It was really powerful,” Adams said. “I got a little emotional…it definitely made me think about what I want in future relationships.”

Cardell’s speech also impressed the same message upon Kaity Varner, an 18-year-old open-option major.

“I’ll definitely be safe and always know the person very well and maintain good communication,” Varner said.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Rose Heaphy at Josephine.heaphy@colorado.edu.