Hi, my name is Asher Cardenas, and I use he/him pronouns. I go to Portales High School, and this is my first year on the Evolvement Leadership Team, but my second year in the program.
Over the summer, I attended the ENMLT Summit, which is an opportunity for a select group of Evolvement members from across the state to learn more about the program and strengthen our leadership and professional skills. During the summit, I learned so many important things, like how to speak confidently in public, plan events, write blogs and testimonies, and write meaningful thank you notes. I also learned more about Evolvement’s two campaigns: 24/7 and No Minor Sale and how we can work on the campaigns by participating in principal meetings, partner presentations, events, school board meetings, and town council meetings.
Along with all the learning, we had a lot of fun too! We did karaoke, scavenger hunts, icebreakers, and played a bunch of games. Even though they were fun, each activity connected to what we were learning. For example, the scavenger hunt helped us practice leadership and communication by talking to people, collecting support cards, and even doing random acts of kindness. It also helped give us practice working on the campaigns since we’ll be collecting support cards at events later in the year!
I joined Evolvement because I want to make a difference. I vaped for three years and was able to quit, even though it was really difficult. Now, I want to help other youth quit using tobacco and nicotine too or not even start in the first place. I’ve seen what drugs and chemicals can do to a person and so I really love being able to work on keeping my community safe from those dangers.
