Promoting Health: Childhood Obesity Conference

My name is Morgan Swindall, I live in Bristow, Virginia and I am a rising senior at Colgan High School. I have been involved with Y street for two years and I recently joined the Y Street Leadership Team last spring. My involvement in Y Street has been one of the most fascinating and motivating experiences of my high school career. Through Y street, I have been able to inform my peers about the benefits of starting each day with a healthy breakfast and provide resources to students, allowing them to voice their opinions about school breakfast through surveys. Y street has also allowed me to partner with my principal to increase participation in school breakfast by providing the resources to diversify the way breakfast is served. Because of my participation in the Great Starts with Breakfast campaign, Y Street gave me the opportunity to present at the Childhood Obesity Conference in San Diego, California. Upon our arrival in San Diego, Lyndsey and I listened to a speech given by an eleven-year-old, CEO and author, named Savannah. Amongst the crowd, there were businessmen and women, physicians, researchers, and even some California youth involved in the creation of the conference watching this girl as intelligence and dedication gracefully flew from Savannah as she spoke about her inspirations and aspirations. Her presentation was followed by the remarks of a successful female, African- American doctor who spoke about how Savannah’s presentation reflected upon the over-arching theme-bridging the divide-by using the combination of youth and adults. Our presentation took place on the following day and it was given in front of youth and adults in a panel-like style. Lyndsey and I spoke alongside Californian youth who had similar objectives. These youths presented informative data and feedback about the campaigns they were working on that focused on connecting with their generation by using modern topics or icons and informing their peers about nutritional issues and solutions. The students were very friendly and even introduced us by saying they had read about the work we were doing in Virginia! After this delightful introduction, Lyndsey and I presented with VFHY member, Henry, about our efforts with the Great Starts with Breakfast campaign. After the presentation, multiple audience members participated in our panel session, including Savannah (who was the most inquisitive participant) and we were even loaded with questions after the event! Reflecting on the event, I am reminded of the purpose that youth, such as Lyndsey and I, carry. As previously noted, the closing remarks given after Savannah’s speech by the female doctor, inspired youth can spread warn our generation about the importance of a healthy lifestyle so that the divide is fully bridged. At the conference, it was important to have a diverse group of youth from across the country collaborate so that we could find support and inspiration in each other, while gaining confidence and knowledge together. By meeting with the other youth, I was able to ascertain different ideas about connecting with my peers and improving attendance at future events. The opportunity to attend this conference was amazing and I am very appreciative of the resources and partnerships that I gained. When we first arrived, we were given access to the Youth Lounge and youth activities like a nutritional poetry slam. During our trip, we also got to travel around the city and one of my favorite trips was our visit to Rescue Head Quarters where we toured the office, met some of the workers, and got to watch some of Rescue’s new campaign commercials. Overall, the trip was an unforgettable experience that has inspired me in many ways. Lastly, I want to take time to thank the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, Rescue, and Y Street for making this possible, the hard work and dedication of all the organization members is essential to the movement and it is greatly appreciated!

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