I'm a School Project?

Hi Ms. Russo,
I am a high school biology teacher in Southern California. I heard your NPR interview the other day and was inspired to use it as a lesson with my students. I showed them the story, taught them about how vaccines and herd immunity work, and had them create a "message from Juniper Russo to parents who are fearful of vaccinating their children." I think it was very meaningful for them. Here is a sample of what they are working on (today!). Thanks for your courage to speak out. 

Best,
Faith Blake

You know-- it's strange. I have gotten emails and Tweets from some of my favorite celebrities and have been getting tons of media requests from national news outlets, but somehow, nothing has excited me quite as much as seeing that my story was having a real impact on the education of today's children. High school aged students are our future-- not just in some distant, abstract sense, but in a very real way that will affect us all in just a couple of years. If I've changed the minds of a single high school student, all this effort has been worth it. Thank you, Faith Blake, for honoring me by using my story as a way to educate and enlighten your students.

The NPR Story That Gave Me My 15 Minutes

I didn't expect that my 15 minutes of fame would come in the form of a call from Jon Hamilton, NPR's science correspondent. I have to admit that I "fangirled" a little when I heard his voice. But something about my story captivated not just Jon Hamilton, but many, many NPR listeners. Within hours, my story was on NPR's front page and pulling in millions upon millions of listeners. By the end of the day, I had been called and emailed by eight other representatives from the media asking to share my story, and I'd gotten hundreds of positive emails from people ranging from stay-at-home moms and high school science teachers to renowned pediatricians and Yale professors. I was pretty stunned!

What was the story that started it all? You can hear it yourself right here.