Barbara Wise, with her husband Rick at her side, talked to an auditorium full of students last week about hope, faith and her own personal struggles with HIV which she contracted while attending the University of Denver more than a decade ago.

“I felt so contaminated,” Wise said, recalling the moment when she learned she had AIDS. She said she contracted AIDS by having unprotected sex with several men at DU.

Wise said her emotional journey began when she was 12 and her father left the family because he was having an affair. At the same time a child molester came into her house and began molesting her.

“My physical pain became a craving for male attention,” she said.

Wise said that she worked hard through high school and made good grades. She was offered a scholarship and a grant to DU.

Wise said she remembered arriving at the university and being overwhelmed by the number of men.

She said she went through multiple boyfriends during her freshman and sophomore years. She was 19 when she had intercourse for the first time.

“I wasn’t sure if God existed or if a healthy relationship existed, so I made men false idols in my mind,” she said.

Wise graduated in 1989 with a speech communication degree and her teaching certificate. Wise said that after graduation she dated for a while, but renewed her Christian beliefs and decided to wait to have sex again until marriage.

She met Rick when she was 27. Rick was still a virgin and Wise said she didn’t want to tell him about her past. When their relationship turned serious, Wise knew she had to tell Rick about her past experiences, which included intercourse with six other men.

Rick said that he forgave Wise instantly. Wise said that she wanted to put closure to her past so she decided to get tested for all sexually transmitted diseases.

Wise was diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1993, seven years after she had contracted the virus.

“The counselor looked at me and said, ‘Your AIDS test came back positive,'” she said.

Wise told Rick the next day. Rick said he forgave Wise and married her in 1993.

“All I can think now is why didn’t I wait for Rick?” she said.

She told her family and his family, but kept it a secret from the rest of the world.

“There was so much stigma and fear associated with AIDS,” said Wise. “I was scared to death to tell anyone at work or at my church.”

Wise said her medicines cost up to $2,000 a month without insurance. With insurance her medications cost her $200.

She has taken AZT up to five times a day and she must have her blood tested every three months.

“I’ve had over nine years of painful consequences because of one night of bad choices,” she said.

“What’s done in the dark will come out in the light,” Wise said.