For the past two years Communities Against Substance Abuse has sponsored members of Morse High School’s Interact Club to attend the Maine Youth Action Network Maine Youth Leadership Summit, a two-day event that takes place each fall in Augusta. In 2011, I attended with four students and this past year, through the continued support of CASA, we were able to bring eight students to the event.

MYAN’s mission is to empower and prepare youth and adults to partner for positive change by offering training opportunities, networking skills and leadership tools. Through a series of workshops and keynote presenters, the conference focuses on making the connection between youth and leadership.

Funded in part by the Partnership For A Tobacco-Free Maine and the tobacco settlement funds, MYAN believes that the key to positive change in Maine starts with youth.

From my experiences over the past two years, supporting young people from across the state, coming together for two days to talk about leadership, is money well spent.

At our first summit, we met members of York High School’s TIDALWAVSE (Teens In Drug Awareness Leading Working And Valuing Self-Esteem) club. The club’s president shared that her school had a strong program of students who pledged to complete high school chemical-free. The group organized weekly events to give kids the opportunity to get together and join in on fun activities.

The event this past fall featured a young woman from Old Orchard Beach who successfully advocated banning smoking on the beaches owned by her town.

Her story was inspiring because it required a long-term effort of advocating for something in which she believed. As you might imagine, not everyone was in support of her idea at first. But over time, she was successful by collecting data and becoming a consistent, strong voice for what she believed in.

I was also truly inspired by another school’s adviser and student council group that through focus and determination have made significant changes in their school’s culture.

One member from her group was selected to attend the wellknown Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, where she was awarded money to organize a local event focused on her school’s culture.

Both events have been very inspiring to the members of our Interact Club.

Already, the youths have committed to attending the monthly CASA meeting where they engage in open discussion of what we can do to help prevent underage drinking and drug use, contributing to positive change within our community.

The Interact Club is also working on a safe and substance free driving awareness campaign for launch before summer break, a high-risk time for many teenagers.

During the MYAN event, posters with the words “I am…” were passed out for students to complete with their own thoughts. Kids as young as sixth grade stood up and shared things like, “I am… inspired,” “I am… unique,” and “I am… chemical-free.”

As adults, we have a responsibility to do everything we can to help our youth grow and learn.

“I am … a supporter of young people.” Are you?

LESLIE TRUNDY is a Guidance Counselor at Morse High School and the mother of two school-age children.