Hi, my name is Emilio Trejo, I am currently a freshman at Arrowhead Park Early College High School. I joined Evolvement in 2019 and since then have done work for both parts of the organization, “No Minor Sale,” and “24/7”. No Minor Sale advocates for tobacco retailer licensing, which in turn decreases the risk of tobacco sales to minors. In contrast, 24/7 advocates to keep tobacco-free school environments. Both, “No Minor Sale,” and “24/7,” were represented at a trunk or treat event for Halloween at my school, which is the focus of today’s blog.
On October 29, 2019 Evolvement set up a booth at Arrowhead Park Early College High School, during their parking lot trunk or treat event. The Evolvement organization provided free merchandise that could be given away in exchange for a filled out “24/7” survey, or a “No Minor Sale” support card. The 24/7 Survey let’s our campaign gauge what my school community knows about our tobacco policies, and the No Minor Sale Support Card lets us know how many people in New Mexico support ending tobacco sales to minors.
Another Evolver and I went around the parking lot asking trunk or treaters to fill out support cards and surveys, while others manned the booth. We also had games like throwing ping pong balls into cups of water to win prizes. We received 43 NMS support cards and 66 24/7 surveys – a huge accomplishment! I also remember that there were many people who supported the cause and were very enthusiastic about filling out surveys, and filling out “No Minor Sale,” support cards with personal experiences.
This experience helped me to understand more about the work Evolvement is doing and how it is benefiting the community, and also how many people in New Mexico support the cause. The surveys and support cards collected over the course of the evening helps the campaign to come closer to reaching its goals, which are reaching and maintaining truly tobacco-free school environments, and stopping tobacco sales to minors. Youth that get involved not only help their school community stay healthy, but also aid in the prevention of tobacco sales to minors across the state. It’s better to be involved than to stand back and let others get hurt by the effect of tobacco.
I also gained a lot of confidence personally by having to get out of my comfort zone and speak to people about filling out these surveys and support cards. By educating the people with facts and information I have learned by being in Evolvement as well as hosting this event, I feel more prepared to go out into my community and educate others about tobacco and public health.
My name is Lauren To and I’m a Freshman at Arrowhead Park Medical Academy. I’ve also been in Evolvement for one year. To be completely honest, I joined Evolvement because it sounded like fun. I came to attend the training after Evolvement did a presentation in my school’s cafeteria. A couple friends and I were listening to the presentation and we decided to sign up.
The training was held at my school on the 27th of September 2019. When my friends and I arrived at the training, everyone there was extremely helpful and nice. We listened to presentations and did interactive activities around the topic of tobacco control. I learned that I wanted to make my school and home a better place, and that there were others who wanted to, as well. My personal favorite moment was when we were asked to go out during lunch and gather 10 complete surveys. Having that interaction with other people in a way that was beneficial to my school just made me feel happy.
This training completely changed my view of the world that I’m living in. Issues that I’ve never been completely interested in were enlarged right in front of my eyes. I learned that tobacco control in my community needs to change, and I can help change it. I’d say to anyone that asks about joining Evolvement, even if you’re undecided, the training is a great way to get back up on your feet and learn that you’re supported by an entire community of people. The bonds that you make with people who want the same thing that you do, to create a better school state, are strong and can become unbreakable.
My name is Karina Tarango and I am a part of the Evolvement leadership team. I am a senior at Capital High School in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I have been involved in Evolvement for two years and one year in the leadership team. Evolvement has allowed me to become a better leader to not only promote a healthier New Mexico but also by leading other groups in my school.
A good leader is someone who knows how to communicate well with others and is able to take into consideration the opinions of others. By being a part of Evolvement, I have improved my leadership skills by practicing during the summit and also throughout this year when talking to legislators and speaking to my community about the importance of keeping tobacco away from schools. For example, when I went to speak in front of my school board to share my concerns about the tobacco policy I felt like I was being a voice for my peers and for my community.
This experience, amongst others, has reminded me of how important youth are to making policy change possible. When I speak about the need for tobacco policy change, I know that I am making a difference for future generations and I am speaking on behalf of my peers. These leadership skills I have learned in Evolvement have allowed me to be more involved in other important issues. In the future, I will continue to use my voice because thanks to Evolvement, I have realized that my voice matters especially as a young adult. I am very proud to be involved in the Evolvement leadership team because I have made an impact on my school community.
My Name is Allyssa Wright I am a Senior at Arrowhead Park Medical Academy. I have been in Evolvement for 4 years since I was a freshman in high school. One of my favorite pastimes in Evolvement was being on the Evolvement Leadership Team for the 2018-2019 School year. One of the top favorite moments of being on the evolvement leadership team was the leadership summit in the summer.
The Evolvement summit not only taught me so much about the importance of Evolvement but also what passion I have for advocating. I remember being nervous to be on the leadership team at first, but I was lucky that my sister was on the team before me and was also on it when I was on it as well. When we got to the hotel we were greeted by the Evolvement staff. Iit was so exciting to be able to be in a space where there were so many passionate people who truly not only want to make a better New Mexico but a better country and world. Once we all got settled into our rooms we went to meet in the ballroom and we were all able to greet each other and meet so many Evolvers from all around New Mexico who all had different stories for why they joined Evolvement. We were able to learn more about Evolvement but also have some fun!
What I truly took away from this experience was the community that was built in coming together in the spirit of advocating. At this summit it really helped me build my confidence in my public speaking and advocating. Public speaking and advocacy are part of the reason I want to go into the field of political science to help advocate for people! This summit has benefited me in more ways than I can express in words. Something that it really benefited was when we were practicing our elevator speeches. Having a testimonial about Evolvement and their campaigns taught me how to be able to describe something complex in a matter of a short period of time. What I always believe is beautiful about Evolvement is being able to share your passion with so many people and that’s exactly what we did at the summit.
My name is Dounyai, Sophomore at V.Sue Cleveland, and it is my first year being in Evolvement. I joined evolvement because I wanted to further my knowledge about the selling of tobacco to minors and how it sparked interest in the eyes of teens. The process wasn’t very difficult at all. My class happened to attend a meeting for evolvement and it sparked my interest to attend the training.
The training was on a school day, on January 22 in the morning. I was given a folder with paper and information of what evolvement is and how it works, it was a very welcoming atmosphere. There was an informational presentation along with activities to do, such as getting in a group and answering questions after watching a video on the issues surrounding tobacco that you and your group mates were given. We also were fed Subway for lunch which was pretty great! My favorite lesson or activity I learned from the training was when we were given the task to collect MOPS (surveys) from students during lunch.
What I took away from this experience was being open and communicating with fellow students and how to approach them. It benefitted me because I was able to work on my communication skills, it also benefited my fellow evolvement students because it also brought more awareness towards tobacco usage and sales towards minors. New evolvement students can expect at this upcoming training that you’ll be asked for your knowledge about this cause and to interact with those around you. Returning evolvement students should continue coming to training because it benefits you with the point system and you’re able to help bring awareness towards others!
I encourage others to join Evolvement because it teaches you how to present, approach a crowd, and to become a leader. It gives you an enriching experience!
My name is Karina Tarango and I am a senior at Capital High School located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I have been in Evolvement for two years and this year is the first year in which I participate in the leadership team. This year, I’ve had the opportunity of going to the State Capitol with other Evolvers from the leadership team and spoke to legislators about a tobacco policy change.
Policies are sets of guidelines, systems, and procedures that must be followed effectively by a community. In order for these policies to achieve effectiveness, the policies must be strong and have no loopholes. The No Minor Sale Campaign focuses on implementing a policy that prevents youth from having access to tobacco. If a policy like this is passed and implemented, then youth could prevent addiction and health complications in the future. Since joining Evolvement, I have been advocating for a change in this policy. This year was my first time attending the event at the State Capitol which allowed me to use my voice to speak on the issue of tobacco to our legislators.
Youth are the future of our nation and for that reason, we should be involved and advocate for change in policies that will improve our future. Through Evolvement, I have discovered that allowing my voice to be heard will contribute to a larger change in the future. I believe that if all youth become involved in policy, then legislators help us to take action and help improve the lives of youth and future generations. Evolvement is trying to make policy changes that will promote healthier lives of youth from all across New Mexico and with the support of our community, we will reach a change.
Hello, My name is Nathan and I am a sophomore at Tucumcari High School. This is my second year in Evolvement, and I am on the Leadership Team. Policy is implemented to set rules. It is important because it helps stop problems that we are working on. For example, if someone doesn’t want guns at school, they can make a policy to stop people from bringing guns to school.
The tobacco retail license for No Minor Sale could stop underage youth from buying tobacco, which in turn helps the community become healthier.
Youth should care about policy because it is our future world and will affect our children and their children.
Tobacco policy will stop sales to minors and improve youth’s future interactions with tobacco.
My name is Elena Pearson and I am an upcoming senior at Capital High School. This will be my second year in Evolvement and I can honestly say that joining is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. High school is where you find your passions. Working to change the flaws in our system, especially when it comes to the youth, happens to be one of mine.
Currently, there are loopholes in our tobacco policy that need to be fixed. Rules can be put in place–but without a strong policy, an epidemic number of minors will continue to use tobacco products.
Youth should care a great deal about these policies. We are the ones who will be affected by this and if we don’t make a change, we’ll watch our children go through the same struggle.
It is 2019 at Valencia High School and my name is Serenity Richetti and this is my 2nd year in Evolvement. I joined Evolvement because both of my parents are major smokers. I found out about Evolvement when the Youth Field Organizer came to my school. She made me feel like I could make a difference by talking about the harms of tobacco.
My first training happened in February of 2019 and it was an all-day activity. During the training we did an assignment that had to do with watching videos and explaining what was occurring. We also got an idea of what the program was about and what we could do. Before we ate lunch, we ended up going outside and collecting MOPs from fellow students. The lesson I learned from the training is how bad tobacco use is in New Mexico.
Having this experience, I took away the fact that the program was. Making a difference. With this program people are actually able to see the harm in tobacco use. It benefited me and my fellow Evolvement students by giving us a group of people that support the same ideas. When you come to the training be prepared to do work, make new friends, and collect knowledge. Even returning members are still learning more. I made new friendships at the training and everyone will listen to your opinion. Evolvement is an amazing program and it is also really fun.
