My name is Cali Walker and I am a junior from Portales High in southeast New Mexico. This will be my third year with the Evolvement program and my second on the leadership team. Being a part of this program has allowed me to grow my skills in many areas, including my confidence levels. This confidence has allowed me to participate in many community awareness-building events with Evolvement. This past fall, I got the chance to represent the program at my town’s annual Peanut Valley Festival.
At the festival, I worked alongside my peers in this program at a booth. Here, we had conversations with people as they passed though the event, about anti-tobacco policies. We stressed the importance of having strong such policies to not only ensure that all the effects of tobacco are understood, but to also keep tobacco products away and out of the hands of our youth. With the No Minor Sale campaign, our main goal was to push for New Mexico to require a tobacco retail license. This would mean that tobacco retailers in New Mexico would be required to apply for a license and upon approval, they then are able to legally to sell tobacco products at their stores. At the time of that event, there was no policy to enforce this, meaning it was harder to track where and by who tobacco was being sold. This made it near impossible to hold retailers accountable when tobacco is sold to minors.
More recently, on March 4th, 2020, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed Senate Bill 131. This is other otherwise known as the Tobacco Products Act, which contains state-wide Tobacco Retail Licensing, the policy that this campaign has been advocating for. This law will go into effect at the first of January this upcoming year. This law defines tobacco products as the following: cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, snuff, e-cigarettes/ including Juuls.
Education is the most empowering tool you can possess. This policy passing is a huge win for New Mexico and it aims to promote awareness and the importance of knowledge. With the work I have done, this program has given me the resources and power to advocate for tobacco control and educate those around me. I have seen the positive impact getting involved and speaking out for policy changes has had on my peers and my community. These changes we are advocating for will go a far way for the betterment of our future.
Shazmeen Kamran, Arrowhead Park Early College High School
Hello, my name is Shazmeen Kamran. I am a freshman at Arrowhead Park Medical Academy, and this is my first year in Evolvement. In this past year I have participated in collecting support from the community, hosting a principal meeting, and running a virtual booth informing the community about Evolvement. But in this blog I’d like to share my experience in helping host a 24/7 Halloween Party.
On October 23, 2020 I participated in hosting a virtual Halloween Party for our school’s community to help spread awareness about 24/7 and use of tobacco in schools. Using Zoom, my fellow advocates and I planned and rehearsed for the event. We reached out to students about our party by texting our friends, family, and encouraged them to spread the word. Guests would listen to a short presentation about 24/7 and we’d ask them to fill out a support card to help us collect the opinion of the community, and some shared personal stories regarding tobacco use in school. Afterwards, they would get to join festive activities such as charades, kahoot, pictionary, but the murder mystery was a huge hit among guests! We took turns running each booth, spreading awareness and enjoyed ourselves at the same time! It was a good experience for both us hosts and the guests!
This experience was great for me as it is my first year in Evolvement. We gained support cards for our campaign, which is really helpful for us to prove how serious tobacco use in schools is. Interacting with my fellow age group and getting to hear their thoughts and opinions on the issue was really eye-opening and insightful. Sharing the importance of tobacco use among students has a huge impact, because we are raising awareness in the community we are trying to help. As a first-time Evolver, this experience helped me build my public speaking skills, social skills, and understand my own personal opinion and value. The Evolvement community itself has such a positive impact on you, everyone is friendly and supportive! When I was preparing for the Halloween event, other Evolvers were there to help if I had questions, or was feeling nervous. Other youth should take on this passion regarding this issue because it will affect our lives and those around us. We can be the generation that will make the change. Evolvement has shown me that change is possible, and I choose to be part of it. I look forward to continuing to be a part of Evolvement, and help bring change to New Mexico.
Hello, my name is Joey Maldonado and I am a Junior at Atrisco Heritage Academy High School. I have been a part of Evolvement for about 4 months now. I have not participated in ENMLT but I hope to in the near future. Evolvement has been a great experience and I plan to do it for the remaining of my high school years. Evolvement is a great organization that is engaged in bringing the community together and keeping the youth healthy.
The youth should participate in events like Virtual Day of Action to be informed about the State of New Mexico and many other important information. Virtual Day of Action really brings the people and community together. It helps the youth gain real world experience. It is important to have strong policies in place to keep the youth healthy, informed, and experienced. We need to stay on the right path of success. Everyone has their own path, but safety and healthiness is important. The good will always beat the bad. The dangers of tobacco consists of easy advertisement for these businesses. These businesses target specific audiences and are so persuasive because of the look and taste of it. The youth will use flavored tobacco products because of the color or it tastes good to them. We need the youth to be informed of the results of using flavored tobacco products. A flavor ban policy can result in less tobacco addicts, more informed youth, and less tobacco deaths. Talking with legislators felt amazing at the age I am at now. It felt like I was making an important change and I hope to do that again. I love being engaged with the community. Working with Evolvement taught me that policy is important because certain policies can affect different audiences. Policy is incredibly important for keeping the community safe, and young people like me informed. Other students can gain great social skills and information from just being involved in policy. People should support the policy changes Evolvement is trying to make to understand the dangers of tobacco and how we can make change together.
Howdy there, my name is Aracely Flores-Ramirez and I’m a junior at Valencia High School and this is my very first year with the Evolvement program here in New Mexico. Even before I learned about this amazing organization and its partner programs, keeping my generation from becoming addicted to tobacco has always been a priority to me. I’ve gone to talk to our senators and representatives about tobacco-related policies multiple times since I was in the eighth grade.
This year, I had the pleasure of attending the capitol to talk about Tobacco Retail Licensing with the No Minor Sale Campaign. A policy, which I am extremely happy to say, has been passed in the state of New Mexico. This policy ensures that more stores are held accountable for illegal sales to minors. This will have an astronomical effect on the availability of tobacco to youth today. Most teenagers only start using tobacco products (such as e-cigarettes) because they tried it with a friend and they could keep getting their hands on it after their first taste. It is hard to change the issue of negative peer pressure, but it is easier to stop it at the inciting incident. Tobacco Retail Licensing was merely the first step in stopping the cycle.
It is through our voices that we can stop more stories like this moving forward. Policy makers have no idea what problems our generation is facing unless we speak up. Legislators, and adults in general, are not superhuman. They don’t know what issues we face and much less how to connect with us to solve it. This is why we have to take responsibility for our fellow students. If we work in collaboration with principles, school boards, and state legislature, the impact will be much greater. Nobody knows us like we know ourselves.
Think of it like this. The more work we do now, the less work we’ll have to do later. Why spend millions of dollars on tobacco cessation programs as tax-paying adults, when we can just work with our fellow students and keep them from needing those programs to begin with? It’s easy to live in the moment and forget about the future. I know it seems hopeless to fight for a tobacco-free school when you see kids vaping in the bathroom the minute you finish a principal meeting. Always remember the end goal in these times! Change happens slowly. You may not see the effects of your advocacy for years, and that’s ok. In the end you likely helped at least one person. You did your part to create a healthier community.
There is no time like the present to act. Everyone has the power to help someone else. Go hand out information cards, conduct student surveys, schedule a meeting with your principle. Evolvement has endless resources to help you along the way. So, go out and do your part!
Hi, my name is Lauren To and I am a Sophomore at Arrowhead Park Medical Academy. I’ve been in Evolvement since 2019 and this year will be my first on the Evolvement Leadership Team. I’m here to share how Evolvement has helped me become a better leader and help better my school community.
Before I start, I feel that I should explain what makes a leader good and capable of leading their community. To me, a leader is someone who is dependable, trustworthy, and capable of clearly communicating with their community, and that’s precisely what Evolvement has helped me become. Evolvement has helped me become a better leader by showing me what a good leader can do, and by supporting me when I am put into a leadership position. One instance that immediately comes to mind is during a virtual event that we held with Sol Calypso. Me and three other Evolvers were asked to lead the event, and I remember that I was really nervous because it was my first time ever being put into that kind of situation. When the event came around, I received a lot of support from Evolvement and it helped me gain confidence in myself and my leadership skills. Even after that event, Evolvement has shown me time after time that I can be a good leader and it has given me the tools to become a great leader.
Evolvement has really shown me that we can make a difference and that every little thing does count. Because of that lesson, in my school community, I’ve changed the way I used to think and I now understand that a good leader, someone who cares, can make the biggest difference. I’m extremely proud that I can be a part of an organization such as Evolvement, and I know that the lessons that Evolvement teaches me will stick with me my entire life, especially when advocating for anything or leading anything.
Evolvement not only teaches valuable life lessons, but it also is trying to change our communities for the better. This year I’m looking forward to doing more for Evolvement by being a part of the Evolvement Leadership team. The leadership team is in a position where they can do more, not only for Evolvement, but for their communities and futures. I hope that in the future, I’m able to host more virtual events, and maybe even do a radio appearance. Evolvement has helped me become a leader and a person who is willing to go out and do more. Evolvement has given me more than I could ever dream of, and I know that we’re going to make history.
Hi, my name is Desbah Begay. I am 15 years old and I am an upcoming sophomore at Newcomb High School. I have been a member of Evolvement for about a year now and I have also been involved with ENMLT for a few months. To be completely honest, I have never heard of “Evolvement” until there was a presentation about it in my 4th hour class. Right then and there, I knew it would be a great idea to give it a shot. Aside from that, I thought it would be an amazing opportunity to be able to learn something new.
Despite the fact that I have very little knowledge about Evolvement, I will use the best of my ability to explain why Youth Activism matters. Not only that, but how a difference can be made within empowering the Youth. Based off of what I have encountered, policy is often used to execute rules. Meaning ; guidelines, regulations, laws, principles, or directions that could be used in ; decision making, politics, economics, and business. Therefore, it is important to have strong policies in place because it authorizes reinforcement as well as clarifies what is tolerable and what is not. Overall, policies have numerous and different purposes.
An example of a policy in which we are trying to change with the No Minor Sale campaign is not marketing to Youth or minorities. If this policy is passed, Youth will not be allowed to purchase any type of tobacco use. That, of course, results in a trusting and more efficient community. I believe this policy has a huge impact on others. It has come to my understanding that it is also relevant for Youth to care about and acknowledge this policy because in many ways, it can be beneficial to their mental/physical health. If Youth were to disobey this policy, their very own health could be on the line. To prevent that from happening, this policy needs to be implemented wherever it may occur. To help reach this goal, it would be great to present more presentations to spread the word or even talk to the school board. In conclusion, polices are a part of Youth Activism and can make a difference within empowering the Youth in multiple ways!
Hello, my name is Alyssa B., and this year I’m going to be a junior at Newcomb High School. I have been in Evolvement for 2 years, and this year will be my third year in Evolvement. I joined Evolvement because I want to help my school and community understand that, when smoking, you’re affecting not only your body but also your health. I also want them to understand that what they are doing could also be affecting others around them. In other words, I want to make a change for everyone to be tobacco free. For me as a teenager, tobacco is a very important topic because I have seen tobacco change my friends in a negative way.
It is important that schools go tobacco-free because it could be a distraction for others by affecting their thinking process and ability to focus. As a student, I’d feel worried about my classmates, friends and other students that use tobacco products because of the toxic ingredients they are inhaling, breathing or swallowing. As an older sister, I want my sister to be tobacco-free as well as her school. I personally don’t want the next generation to fall into the phase of getting into tobacco. I would rather have them be completely tobacco-free.
Having a tobacco-free policy at school would probably affect the community in good ways as well because there are other things to do at home and it could bring closer together. Students can be influenced by a tobacco-free policy by making more time for studying, or focusing on bettering themselves. The tobacco-free policy would also help improve their health. In conclusion, I believe tobacco-free policies can help make a difference/change, not only in schools but in the community too.
Hello everyone! My name is Jasmine Greene and I am an upcoming junior at Cuba High School. This is my second year in Evolvement, and my first year on the leadership team. I’m so very grateful that I was selected to be on the Evolvement Leadership Team this year and can’t wait to help push for change! Today I will be talking about policy and policy change.
A policy is implemented as a procedure or protocol as the result of a statement of intent. A policy is established to help maintain order of an organization to ensure that all people are treated equally and fairly. It is important to have these policies in place such as sale of tobacco products or e-cigarettes to minors. This happens with the use of a fake ID from the minor, or not asking for an ID in the first place upon the teen asking for the product. The effect would be very positive in that it would help keep tobacco products away from teens, and even help save their lives. It would also require stores and businesses to have a policy to show a valid ID that shows 21 or older to purchase these products. The policy change we are trying to accomplish in the No Minor Sale campaign is to stop all sale of tobacco products of any kind to minors (such as teens, and even younger kids).
The way I have become involved with changing this policy is I have been speaking to friends and family so that they are aware of this problem. I myself have been and am trying my best to be a role model for younger children and teens by being tobacco free. I have never tried any form of tobacco even though my friends have tried to pressure me into trying them. This includes cigarettes, E-cigs, such as vapes and JUULs and chewing tobacco.
Youth should care about this policy because they should care about their personal heath and how this could affect them as a person and their future career. Working with Evolvement has taught me the importance of policy and that teens have a healthier life when they stay away from tobacco and stay tobacco-free. They could become more aware of the effects of how much tobacco hurts their body when they are older and how badly smoking hurts your lungs and liver. People should support Evolvement because we are trying to bring awareness to the problems we have in the tobacco industry. We also are looking out for our fellow teens and the teens of the future generations.
Hello everyone, my name is Loree Foster. I am a junior at Aztec high school, I have been in Evolvement going on 3 years now, and this is my first year on the Leadership Team. I want to share my input on our youth at my school under the influence of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.
It’s important to me that schools go tobacco-free because, if we do not end this now, it’s going to get way worse for our future generations, such as our children and our great grandchildren, and so forth. I want to be the change, not only in my community, but I want to really make an impact on our future youth. I feel like my other classmates tend to put pressure on their peers in school. But our school is a place for learning, not to use things such as tobacco and E-cigarettes because it doesn’t only affect them, it affects us around them as well. Being under the influence can change your mood, personality, learning ability and so much more. And those things can affect those around you.
I’m only 16, and some tend to view people my age as someone who does drugs and such. So most people in school will just offer tobacco to you, or they will say things such as, “If you don’t smoke/vape then you’re a big wuss” or “If you ain’t going to smoke/vape then you can’t be around us” or “Just do it, or we will have to make you”. That I do not like what so ever. Tobacco should only be a choice when I’m an adult. Not as an underage kid. I am now a volunteer firefighter here in Aztec, and I strive to be drug and tobacco-free, all day, everyday, 24/7, so that I can help my community and to do my job efficiently.
My name is Emilia Coombs. I am a Junior at Arrowhead Park Early College high School in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I have been a member of Evolvement for three years, but this is my first year on the Evolvement Leadership Team. In order to join the Leadership Team, you must go to a Summit where they teach you more about Evolvement and the campaigns it works with. Usually, this Summit is at a hotel in Albuquerque, but this year we did it virtually. At first, I was sad that the Summit wasn’t going to be the same as I imagined it, but once they started sending packages with surprises to open during the Summit, I got really excited!
The virtual Summit helped introduce us to what it is like to be on the leadership team. It taught us how to set up principal meetings and partner presentations. We also got assignments that helped us put ourselves out there as Evolvement Youth activists. For example, we had an assignment to reach out to an organization about meeting for a partner presentation. It also taught us how to communicate effectively with important people and even gave us experience by letting us meet with Tupak members and representatives. The opportunities and experience, during the Summit, taught me to be confident and feel like an important member of the Evolvement team.
The Summit also had super fun, above and beyond, activities! One of the days, they surprised us by having everyone open a package they sent with a huge canvas and a paint set! They then had everyone paint a picture of white sands with a beautiful sunset together with an instructor. Another day, they gave us cookies with a frosting kit to decorate. They also gave everyone a “zoomate” to meet and do activities like a lip singing battle. The Summit gave us super fun leadership opportunities and had us do so many exciting activities with each other which allowed us to make new friendships with the rest of the leadership team.
This experience taught me to grow as a leader and helped prepare me for the role of an Evolvement Youth Leader. I’m so glad I had this awesome opportunity to attend the virtual Evolvement Summit because it helped me create friendships, feel more confident, and know that my voice as an Evolvement youth activist needs to be heard. Because of the Summit, I feel super excited about my new role as an Evolvement Youth Leader. I can’t wait to do my part in promoting a tobacco free New Mexico.