Ya’at’eeh! My name is Sky Harper and I am a Junior at Navajo Preparatory School in Farmington, New Mexico. This is my third year in Evolvement, but my first year on the Evolvement Leadership Team. I recently conducted a meeting with my principal pertaining to statistics tobacco about tobacco use and tobacco policy awareness in my school.
I had scheduled a meeting with my principal because getting their support is very beneficial towards persuading the school board to also support Evolvement and our campaigns. As the date crept closer, I realized that I was nervous and scared. I received the envelope that held all the materials I would need, such as the pledge card and a statistics sheet which made me feel a bit better. Finally, the day of the meeting was here. After school, I gathered myself up and pushed the nervousness I had to the back of my mind and walked up the stairs to my principal’s office. I quickly reviewed my talking points one more time and stepped into his office. While there, I gained more and more confidence as I talked to my principal and showed him the information I had. He and I agreed that the statistics should be better, and he said he will support Evolvement. I had my principal sign a support card, pledging to support the goal of creating a tobacco-free school and my meeting was over.
This experience overall was very important for future endeavors of the 24/7 Campaign. Getting support from the principal is very influential to school board members. My principal pledged to help make Navajo Preparatory School truly tobacco free. Through this experience, I learned that speaking to people who have a high position is not that scary. They are helpful and very supportive if you explain your views thoroughly. This is the first of many steps to eliminate tobacco at my school.
Hi, my name is Eliana Ruiloba and I am a junior at Atrisco Heritage Academy High School. This is my second year in Evolvement, but my first year as a Evolvement leadership team member. I have participated in presenting to state legislatures about our wonderful program and participated in several school and community events.
Tobacco is the #1 leading cause of preventable death in the United States. In the U.S. alone 480,000 people have died from tobacco related illnesses. As a high schooler I am targeted by the tobacco industry because they flavor tobacco products with things like cotton candy, grape, blue raspberry, and other things that appeal to youth. It has become popular to use tobacco in this generation. Use of tobacco products before the age of eighteen can lead to addiction for life.
Evolvement New Mexico youth focus on two campaigns, the first one, No Minor Sale, is community based, even though tobacco sales to minors are illegal, 1 in 6 retail stores still sale to minors, Evolvers like me raise awareness of that issue. Our second campaign is called 24/7 New Mexico and it is focused on changing school tobacco policies district-wide to be completely 100% comprehensive. Being completely comprehensive means absolutely no tobacco products on school campus or at school sponsored events used by students, staff and visitors, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Both campaigns are important to me because my grandfather started using tobacco at the young age of 13 and I have seen the effects of tobacco first hand. I do not want my young family members to be exposed to tobacco products at school or in their community.
My name is Amanda Sena, I am a sophomore at Atrisco Heritage Academy High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I joined Evolvement this past year and so far I have introduced the 24/7 NM campaign to my friends. I have participated, in explaining to parents and students what I do as an advocate for Evolvement and how we are working with 24/7 NM to make all schools 100% tobacco free.
At Atrisco Heritage Academy High School’s Open House we educated others about 24/7 NM. At the event I offered people to spin the prize wheel in return for filling out a 24/7 NM school assessment. For this being my first event we were soaked by the rain but still had a great time. We interacted with over 50 people at the open house and collected over 40 valid 24/7 NM school assessments. Many parents would tell me they didn’t know if their child’s school had consequences if they were caught with tobacco products on campus.
Being involved and attending events is important to me because the more events you attend the more people will be informed about tobacco usage in schools. Informing the community can help make schools 100% tobacco free. Making schools tobacco free is an issue many people are passionate about because if this issue is resolved then youth will not be exposed to tobacco and this can prevent addiction or illness from tobacco use. Attending 24/7 events are fun, you can hang out with friends and still help spread the word about making schools tobacco free.
Hello! Our names are Alexander Lujan and A’Leaya Lucero of Evolvement from Tucumcari High School. I, Alexander, am new to Evolvement this year and Fired Up was my first event. I, A’Leaya Lucero, have been apart of Evolvement for three years. I am apart of the Evolvement New Mexico Leadership Team and I have been involved in many campaigns with Evolvement, including No Minor Sale. No Minor Sale is a youth led campaign trying to end the illegal sell of tobacco to minors across New Mexico. We believe No Minor Sale is important for New Mexico for the simple reason that these illegal sales affect New Mexico’s future generations’ health and wellbeing.
The Fired Up event was a huge success this year. Our No Minor Sale event took place at Tucumcari’s Railroad Museum. We interacted with over 200 people and collected over 150 messages of support. A huge number of the people who stopped by our booth were in support of No Minor Sale and the goal we are trying to achieve. It was great to see we have the community on our side. An older gentleman stopped by our booth and told us how he started smoking at around the age of eight. He said if he had not started, he wouldn’t be struggling to stop now in his old age.
We believe it is important for Evolvement youth to get involved and come to events because the more people who help, the more people we can reach, and in the end the more change we can make. This event was fun to take part in because we were able to reach so much more of the community compared to a school event. Youth outside of this campaign should be passionate about the issues because they are the future generation and these issues affect them directly. Overall, we believe this event was a total success and a great kick off event for the No Minor Sale campaign at Tucumcari High School. We are excited and ready for more events to come!
Hello, my name is Dannika Maldonado. I am starting my 3rd year as a member of Evolvement. I have participated in 5 events two of them with the 24/7 campaign for tobacco-free schools and 3 No Minor Sale events, sharing information about illegal tobacco sales to minors. I have presented to 2 school boards, Silver and Cobre. My first event this year was at the Red Hot Children’s Fiesta in Silver City. The community was very supportive and I had a couple of people share stories of their loved ones being affected by tobacco from a young age. The Evolvement youth at Silver High School collected 76 messages of support at our event. These messages will be shared with local leaders and decision makers in our community. I think high school youth should join Evolvement to get involved and attend events because they are really fun and you are helping promote a healthy New Mexico. This event was a community event and they are very different from school events because they are aimed more at the public and you get to meet a variety of people. Youth should be passionate about this issue because their own peers are being affected by big tobacco. This event was a great experience and I am very glad to have had it. I encourage everyone to go to events to have the great, fun experience I had.
Greetings, my name is Caelin Cadman, I’m a senior at Newcomb High School, and a member of the 2018-19 Evolvement New Mexico Leadership Team (ENMLT). Being a member of Evolvement I’ve donated my blood at a blood drive and helped be a part of a “Haunted School” event where I got to scare friends and my teachers.
The summer of 2018 I attended the ENMLT summit. Which is an event held to prepare all Evolvement leaders statewide. The summit enhanced my knowledge of Evolvement and its campaigns, brought me out of my comfort zone to really be confident, and I learned to believe in myself. This happened through a networking event that was held during the summit; seeing that many mature adults all had an interest in the difference I’m trying to make through Evolvement really motivated me and I felt as if I had found my voice. What I mean by that is, thanks to the summit, I’m now able to express myself without feeling embarrassed to do so and I’m now a much better leader that speaks with integrity and honor about Evolvement and myself. I’ve met many great people in the summit and would call it one of the greatest learning experiences of my life due to its great positive vibes.
I’m excited to lead my Evolvement group this year in hopes to inspire another Evolver to become a leader just as I have. The summit is non-stop fun, filled with great people, loads of knowledge about leadership, and great food!
Ya’at’teeh shikeh doo shidine’e. Hello, my friends and family. My name is Samantha L. and I am a recent graduate from Navajo Preparatory School in Farmington, NM. I have been an activist in Evolvement throughout all four years of high school and had the opportunity to serve on the Evolvement New Mexico Leadership Team for a year. I am attending the College of St. Josephs in Vermont starting in the fall. I am majoring in Physical Therapy and getting a minor in Photography, all while playing college basketball.
Working with Evolvement has taught me how to take action on the deficits within my community, plan events, conduct presentations, and work well with others; and it has greatly improved my public speaking skills. Throughout the years, we have witnessed many changes within communities across the state of New Mexico. School boards began to adopt our 100% comprehensive tobacco-free policies. With No Minor Sale, we have presented to many community organizations. There is one partner presentation that will always have an impact on me. My first No Minor Sale partner presentation was at the San Juan Rotary Club in Farmington, NM. Many members gave a personal message of support, including one who even survived lung cancer.
Spreading awareness about problems that people do not know are problems is why Evolvement is so important to me. I made a promise from my very first training to always fight for something that I feel passionate about and grow through the various opportunities provided. Evolvement gave me life skills and all the tools that I may ever need to work on policy and educational campaigns, conduct presentations, and plan events. Being a youth advocate is very important. We are the next generation and we have a voice. It is our time to make a change, to help schools and communities become truly tobacco-free. I want to thank everyone who has influenced my life in such an amazing way. I will always remember the work and trainings that Evolvement youth have done. Also, youth advocacy catches the attention of colleges. Some colleges even offer scholarships for the work that you do with Evolvement!
Hello everyone, my name is Josh S. and I’m a junior at King George High School in Virginia. For the past two years I have been a part of Y Street to help my school become a better and healthier part of my community. Y Street has given me tremendous opportunity to connect with my fellow students and the community of King George, and it goes to show that when you want to help your school, everyone is on board. Y Street is run by us, the students, with help from our advisor, Mrs. Strauss. We work together to hold events, meetings, trainings, and so much more!
Last year, Y-Sters at King George High School spoke to our school board to change our tobacco policy to be 100% comprehensive. This year, we held events at the King George Fall Festival as well as at sports and community events held at the school. At these events, we talked to people about our campaigns and gathered important data to help our school. Yes, this is nerve-racking, but it is a great way for us to come out of our shells and become fearless. Plus we have a card to help us talk about the event if we go off topic.
Right now, Y-Sters at KGHS are looking towards bringing more accessible food to our high school. Great Starts with Breakfast is a very important campaign for our students. Every student should be provided with breakfast so they can have high energy throughout the day. We will need to present the data we gather from our events to our Nutritional Director so we can get the ball rolling. Our Great Starts With Breakfast lunch event was a hit with all the students at King George High School. We went to lunch tables, talking to students about the importance of eating a healthy breakfast. We also had students take surveys to be able to spin a prize wheel and get one of our many GSWB swag items.
We also spread the word about drinking healthily. Rev Your Bev was held on May 25, 2018 in schools across Virginia. For King George, as soon as lunch started, people were coming to our table wanting to know what we were up to; it was safe to say that everyone had a blast. We had water set out for people to drink and as students were filling out surveys, Y-Sters talked to them about the importance of drinking water. Students took water surveys to find their favorite water flavors. In the simplest words, King George loved it.
Y Street is bringing students together not only in their local communities but around the entire Commonwealth to lead Virginia to a healthier tomorrow. Y Street is not only an “activist club,” but a club where we learn life lessons about voicing our opinions for the betterment of our communities. Furthermore, it has taught us responsibility, dedication, persistence, and leadership skills. This organization has not only brought students together but has bonded us as friends and team members working towards a common goal. We are always learning from the organization and the students that we work with, and I personally recommend Y Street to every student. This organization will help you grow as a person and will teach you life skills that everyone should know. Y Street is still growing within King George and we can’t wait to see what else it has in store for our school and the students within it.
My name is Mariel, and I am an 11th-grade Y-Ster at Powhatan High School in Virginia. Recently at our school we celebrated Rev Your Bev Day! This year, Rev Your Bev Day’s goal was to promote drinking water in new and exciting ways.
At our school, many of the students had a lot of fun sampling the different waters we provided. Many enjoyed comparing the bubbly water with strawberries and blueberries to the filtered water with lemon and lime. It surprised me that so many students were completely willing to fill out MOPs even without getting the samples or the giveaway items. While it was hard work, I had a fun day. I helped people recognize that they can have water instead of sugary drinks and still have a refreshing drink that tastes good.
Many students said that they would drink more water after the event. Since the event, I have personally seen more people who used to bring soda or Kool-Aid to school now bring water bottles instead. I can definitely say that knowing that we made a difference and helped people feels amazing!
Hello! My name is Lea and I am a sophomore from V. Sue Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho, NM. I have been involved with Evolvement since freshman year. As an Evolvement advocate, I have been educated on the harmful effects of tobacco, and have had the opportunity to go out in my community to convey the message through different events for both the 24/7 campaign and the No Minor Sale campaign.
One of the events I participated in was the Fiery Foods Festival held at Sandia Resort and Casino in Albuquerque through March 2-4. For this event, Evolvement had a booth set up in the ballroom to inform incoming people about the No Minor Sale campaign. This campaign informs people about illegal tobacco sales to minors under the age of 18, including the many reasons why they are still happening, and what we can do to solve the problem. Tobacco use begins at an early age for many, and with the No Minor Sale campaign we can reach out to individuals to terminate this growing epidemic. To enlighten New Mexicans on this negative situation, No Minor Sale conducts surveys to collect data on people’s prior knowledge of and opinions about illegal tobacco sales to minors, and offers support cards for people who want to share their personal experiences.
Evolvers successfully collected nearly 300 surveys and 22 support cards during the Fiery Foods Festival. During the event, I was able to hear several stories from people about their experiences. This included an emotional account from a young lady who shared her situation of living with a father who smoked, resulting with his passing away early. She spoke of her desire to spend more time with him and her wish to have ended his smoking habits. Stories such as this one really touch on the reasoning behind wanting to prevent young people from becoming addicted to tobacco products.
Listening to personal testimonies makes it clear as to why campaigns like No Minor Sale are necessary. When attending community events for Evolvement, there are such diverse crowds with a variety of stories to be told that it is reason alone to be passionate about ending tobacco abuse. I believe the misfortune of lives lost due to tobacco can be prevented through Evolvement. The youth have the potential to advocate and influence change, and should participate in events in their communities. I have personally taken the opportunity to do so, and hope to encourage others to become engaged as well and to learn about the meaningful ideals Evolvement upholds.