Degree earning/earned:
Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies
Masters of Public Health in Public Health Administration and Policy
Career:
University of Minnesota , Boynton Health Service
Minneapolis , MN
Quit & Win Project Coordinator
Amanda coordinates a contest-based smoking cessation program for students, faculty, and staff at ten colleges in Minnesota called Quit & Win. The contest is funded with tobacco settlement money and run through the University Health Service. Through Quit & Win, people who smoke are eligible to win a $3000 shopping spree if they are able to quit smoking for 30 days. Quit & Win provides the participants with free nicotine patches and gum and cessation coaching. Quit & Win 2006 has about 600 participants and, in the past, had a 30-day quit rate of over 50 percent.
NOYS Meetings attended, and memories of those events:
All of the NOYS meetings that I have attended have been empowering in their own right. There is nothing like spending time with inspirational people my age who are all passionate about helping others to lead safe and healthy lives. Sometimes, in my own community, it could be hard to resist peer pressure; but knowing that there were NOYS youth all over the country who were able to stay on the safe and healthy track helped me to get through the tough times.
Over the years, I have represented the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the American School Health Association, and AlumNOYS. On the local level, I have also been a part of Students Against Destructive Decisions, Project Change, and The BACCHUS Network. Some of my favorite memories come from helping to create Speak Out and Make NOYS and helping to host the National Youth Diversity Summit on Traffic Safety. The NOYS youth took a leadership role to give youth nationwide tips on running a successful youth health or safety organization through a video and training manual called Speak Out and Make NOYS. Helping to develop the manual and film the video was a blast. At the National Youth Diversity Summit on Traffic Safety, the NOYS youth launched Speak Out and Make NOYS and served as leadership role models to the thousands of youth who attended.
Now, at age 23, I credit NOYS for helping me to make safe and healthy decisions for myself, teaching me leadership skills that I have been able to use to help make positive changes in the lives of my peers, and leading me towards a career in public health policy. Overall, NOYS has been a driving force in my life.
Why is youth safety and health important to you?
Youth safety and health is important to me because it is an issue that touches every person’s life and because we, as youth, have such power to make positive change. Youth have to make decisions about wearing seat belts, stepping in when a peer is being bullied, and stopping a friend from driving if they have been drinking. Peers can greatly influence their friend’s decisions and help set safe and healthy norms. Youth are not just part of the problem, we are a big part of the solution. We have the power to affect our peers locally and nationally. We have a responsibility to use this power to help keep other youth safe and healthy.
What are you doing now to address youth safety and health concerns?
I am currently in my final year of a Master’s of Public Health program at the University of Minnesota , Twin Cities. I am studying public health administration and policy, with a focus on implementing policies that affect behaviors of a population. My Master’s Thesis is on how city-wide smoking bans in bars and restaurants affect social smoking behavior of college students.
Besides school, I am involved with a peer education organization called SNAP, the Student Network for Abuse Prevention, which educates college students about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. SNAP is an affiliate of the BACCHUS Network, a NOYS member organization. SNAP facilitates an alcohol education program called “be-WISE-er,” and coordinates campaigns such as the National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, Great American Smoke-out, and Safe Spring Break Week on the University of Minnesota , Twin Cities campus. I also serve as the graduate assistant on the Quit & Win smoking cessation contest. I credit NOYS for exposing me to the youth safety and health field and encouraging me to enter a career in public health.
What was college peer pressure like?
For me, college peer pressure was not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. I found high school peer pressure to be more obtrusive. In college, people were more likely to respect my decisions. I also was able to find a group that could have a lot of fun together without getting into dangerous situations. I connected with my school’s peer health education group and found a lot of close relationships there. I could be myself in college and didn’t have to worry about peer pressure.
Lessons learned and advice for current NOYS youth:
Ask questions, keep in touch, learn from the adults and youth around the table—they are very interesting people! How often do you get the chance to be in one place with youth with similar interests and adults who deeply respect and care about youth? Make the most of it! |
