Hey there, I’m James Salerno. I’m in my Freshman year at Moriarty High School and this is my first year being involved with Evolvement and all they have to offer. I joined Evolvement due to an activity they held at our school that let students learn what the program was about and get some nice items for participating. This activity let us sign up for training with some of the Evolvement team.

“But how was the actual training?” you may ask. I’m very glad to say that it was actually really fun! It’s not one of those boring events where you sit there and listen to someone talk for hours on end; they had us participate in some fun hands-on activities. One of these activities was to act out different injuries—like a cut or or a broken leg—and they gave us a bandage for this injury. They did this to show that one form of assistance might help some issues, like how a bandage can help a cut, but some people simply need more help than others, like for a broken leg (or quitting nicotine). I really enjoyed these activities that not only engaged us with the difficult subject of nicotine addiction and quitting in an easy-to-follow way but also helped us all feel included during training.

This training helped me understand how important getting nicotine use out of our schools and communities truly is. I noticed that this impact also echoed to the other students who attended this training, as there was much conversation among students about nicotine use and its impact. New students getting into Evolvement and participating in this training can expect lots of fun activities, some group work, and chances to get to know both the team and other students who attend. Returning students should proceed in their journey with Evolvement because of the multitude of opportunities with their rewards program and scholarships. Overall, the experience of participating in the Evolvement movement is worth it, whether you just heard of it recently or have a background in the program.