Advocating for Change at the Capitol

Hello, my name is Mario Torres-Soto. I am a sophomore at Arrowhead Park Early College High School, and I’ve been with Evolvement for 2 years. Evolvement works with No Minor Sale, which is a campaign focusing on the dangers of flavored nicotine and tobacco products to teens and minors. This year, I’ve had the opportunity to be part of Day at the Capitol. This is a big opportunity because this is when we can make the biggest change with our campaign by educating and advocating to state legislators.

Speaking to the legislators really made me confident in the answer of why flavored nicotine restrictions are important because of the dangers it can cause and how it can force teens to have a higher dependency on nicotine. For example, speaking to Representative Jenifer Jones, who is a registered nurse, really opened my eyes to the power we as a campaign have to create change, and also how our NM government is with us every step of the way supporting us.

The experience meeting these legislators was amazing. I truly feel that we were able to talk to them about our goals and impact, and I believe most of them support our campaigns. This might benefit No Minor Sale by providing a better budget for the campaign and more support from the government. Hopefully, they pass policies to help our youth protect their developing minds from the predatory tobacco industry.

Abogando por el Cambio en el Capitolio

Hola, mi nombre es Mario Torres-Soto y estoy hoy escribiendo sobre una de las campañas de Evolvement, siendo la de No Minor Sale. Esta es una campaña diseñada para proteger la comunidad, específicamente a los adolescentes y menores de edad, del consumo de nicotina de sabor. Hoy tuve la oportunidad de estar con esta campaña en el día conocido como Day at the Capitol, en donde podemos hablar y presentar nuestra campaña a los legisladores en NM.

Este día tuve la oportunidad de hablarle a la representante del distrito 32, Jenifer Jones. En nuestra presentación hablamos sobre nuestra preocupación hacia la comunidad de los daños que el consumo de nicotina de sabor tiene hacia nuestros niños y adolescentes. Hablando con ella y muchos más legisladores, no tengo la menor duda de que ellos nos van a apoyar en esta campaña. Y teniendo el gobierno de Nuevo México a nuestro lado podemos lograr muchas más cosas para lo que queda de este año.

Mi experiencia este día fue inimaginable y fue una oportunidad que gracias a Evolvement pude lograr. Creo que esto que hicimos hoy beneficiará nuestra campaña porque podríamos tener mejor apoyo, sea económico o solo apoyo formal, podrá llegar muy lejos. Para apoyarnos, los legisladores o la comunidad podrían dar su apoyo a NUPAC para lograr conectar con más escuelas y adolescentes en NM.

Hi, my name is Illuminata. I am a junior at Eldorado High School and this is my 3rd year in Evolvement and on the Leadership team. Evolvement is a youth-led movement focused on promoting healthier communities. Evolvement's No Minor Sale campaign specifically targets the issue of commercial tobacco and nicotine retail practices to ensure that the health of young people is prioritized over industry profits.

The primary goal of this campaign is to educate the public and policymakers about how the tobacco industry uses flavored products and strategic marketing to appeal to youth. The campaign advocates for policies that reduce youth access to these products, such as restricting flavored products, encouraging stricter compliance of age-of-sale laws, and raising awareness about the long-term health impacts of nicotine addiction on the developing brain.

One way I help advocate for these policies is at an event called Day at the Capitol. During Day at the Capitol, Evolvement members try to educate the community, senators, and representatives about the dangers of tobacco and Evolvement's campaigns. The day before we go to the Capitol, we get to meet up with other Evolvement students from around the state to have dinner together. Then, we attend training sessions at our hotel to go over campaign details and practice our presentation.

The following day, we're up early to eat breakfast and head to the Capitol. Throughout the day, we meet with legislators, share our presentation, and answer questions. Though we can't lobby for a specific bill, we can advocate for policies that help to protect youth like flavor restriction, and educate lawmakers to gain support and protect funding for our program. At the end of the day we write thank you notes to all the legislators we met with to share our gratitude for their time.

Evolvement's Day at the Capitol is a great experience! Not only do I get to work on something I believe in, but I also get to improve my skills in public speaking, networking, and advocating. I would encourage all high school students in the Evolvement Program who care about public health to join us next year!

Hi! My name is Paiuma, and I attend Arrowhead Park Early College High School, where I am currently a senior. I’ve been involved with Evolvement for three years and have been on the leadership team for two years. Evolvement focuses on two main campaigns, No Minor Sale and 24/7, but today I will be talking about No Minor Sale and Day at the Capitol.

No Minor Sale focuses on reducing the sale of nicotine and tobacco products to minors. Many nicotine products come in appealing flavors that can easily attract our youth and can lead to addiction, and our goal is to eliminate these flavored products to protect our youth. During Day at the Capitol, our leadership team traveled to Santa Fe to meet with state legislators and other leaders to educate them about our work and advocate for stronger protections for youth. During this event, I partnered with another Evolvement member, Christiana, and together we met with several leaders, including Senator Natalie Figueroa, Lieutenant Governor Howie Morales, Senator Brantley, Senator Gabriel Ramos, and Senator Carrie Hamblen. We talked about how flavored nicotine products can be addictive and why it is important to prevent youth access to these products. We also advocated for more funding so that we can present to middle and elementary schools and teach younger students early about the harmful effects they can have on one's body.

At the Capitol, I really enjoyed speaking with all the leaders, and I especially enjoyed meeting with Senator Natalie Figueroa because she was very supportive and genuinely engaged in our work. I was also very inspired by Senator Carrie Hamblen, who encouraged Christiana and me to consider being involved in politics because our voices matter as women, and we are just as capable of creating change as a man would be.

During my time at the Capitol, the biggest thing I took away from this experience is that youth advocacy can truly make a difference; being young gives us the opportunity to make legislators actually listen to what we have to say, and having support from lawmakers can help expand our program, increase awareness, and reach more youth with education about the dangers of nicotine and tobacco products. After meeting with the state legislators, I realized how fast-paced and challenging their work can be, which gave me more respect for the process. Overall, this experience means a lot to me because I care deeply about my community and want to spread awareness to the younger generation!