Writer, Toothpaste (2004 South Texas Contest Winner)

"We made our film because we want young people to make better decisions [about sexual health] and be sure about what they are doing... You need to know the consequences — you need to have the information."

- Laura Coria

Laura wrote the story for Toothpaste as part of a class assignment with classmates Amanda Ramirez, Krystal Villareal and Gladys Sanchez. The four girls from Mission, TX got way more than they expected in return when their script won the 2004 Writing Contest and opened up a community-wide dialogue about progressive sex education. When the Abstinence-Only Education Committee tried to stop Toothpaste from being distributed in TX schools, Amanda and her co-writers successfully rallied educators, family and friends to support their film and their message.

Laura credits the process of making Toothpaste for introducing her to her passion for promoting comprehensive sex education as a matter of social justice. Since making the film, Amanda and her co-writers worked with Scenarios and Advocates for Youth to spearhead the Rio Grande Valley Youth LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) Chapter, giving youth in their community a powerful voice in LULAC’s agenda. For this effort, the girls earned the 2006 Generation Next Award from Choice USA.

In addition to their training with Scenarios USA, Laura and her co-writers completed a weekend long training in Washington, DC and joined Advocates for Youth’s "My Voice Counts" Campaign Network. During that weekend, the girls took the chance to lobby Texas federal representatives for comprehensive sex education in schools.

Laura is from Mission, TX, a town with a population of 46,000 that sits just a few miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. She was a senior at Mission High School when she, Amanda, Krystal and Gladys wrote Toothpaste. Now 21 years old, Laura attends South Texas College and plans to pursue a B.A. in Media and Communications. Laura is especially interested in putting her Spanish skills to good use with media companies that serve Spanish-speaking populations.

Click here to read an interview with Laura.

Past Speaking Engagements

• Annie E. Casey Foundation Adolescent Reproductive Health Grantees Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, NM in 2007
• Interview with Choice USA about receiving the 2006 Generation Next Award
• American School Health Association Conference in St. Louis, MO in 2006
• Delivered keynote speech at the Texas State School Health Association on January 28th, 2006

Contact

• Email: info@scenariosusa.org
• Phone: (866) 414 1044

Find out more about Toothpaste or view it now (16 minutes):

High bandwidth | Low bandwidth

Having trouble viewing a clip?

Download QuickTime

Download Flash