Hello! I’m Payton Binion, I’m a senior at Cuba High School and this is my third year in Evolvement and second year on the Evolvement Leadership Team. I joined Evolvement because I wanted the chance to be a part of something bigger than myself. Through Evolvement we have the chance to make a real change for the future of New Mexico.

The way we can start this change is by attending training. Training season is the recruitment and training process for new and existing Evolvement members. During the Evolvement training we give a presentation about Evolvement and use the public speaking skills we learn at Summit to execute this presentation. I think it’s so important that we get students to come to the Evolvement training because it’s a direct way to educate them on the dangers and risks of tobacco and nicotine products and help them become youth advocates as well.

Since being on the leadership team I feel that I’ve learned a lot of skills I can use in my life after graduating. I used a lot of these skills to recruit new Evolvement members. Last year’s training session went very well and we got a lot more participation than I expected. After the training session I spoke to a lot of students who tell me they learned something and that they want to change either using these products themselves or want to get a friend or family member to quit. Knowing that I’m a part of this program makes me feel like I’m fulfilling my dream of being a part of a change. Being an older sister, aunt, and just someone that younger kids look up to, I want a safer and better future for them. I don’t want them to have to worry about peer pressure, or worry about their friends and peers having this addiction as I have to now. I hope after I graduate that more students use their voice to be a change for a better tomorrow.