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.

My name is Rhys, and I am a sophomore at Los Lunas High School. I have been part of Evolvement for two years, and on the leadership team for one. No Minor Sale is a campaign where we educate community members about the dangers of flavored nicotine products. I am writing about Day at the Capitol, which is the day where we go to the State Capitol and educate legislators about Evolvement and the campaigns, in hopes of getting support from them.

During the day, we met with legislators in their offices and even in the hallway. I was able to speak to Representatives Ferrary and Martinez. I shared about No Minor Sale by showing them our slideshow and presenting information about our campaign. The legislators responded well and were all very interested. It is important to educate legislators about flavored nicotine restriction because they are the policymakers in New Mexico, and having their support would make a big difference. If they understand how important it is to reduce the sale of nicotine products to minors, it can influence their decisions.

It is important to get involved in something like this because it builds great public speaking skills, leadership experience, and of course, it is for a great cause. It creates positive change because it is good for the community, especially if we continue to get more and more support.

My experience was fun. We were running around looking for and meeting with legislators which was a lot easier than I had anticipated. They were all very nice, interested, and easygoing. This supports and benefits No Minor Sale because we are able to educate more people and get our message out to policymakers in New Mexico. From attending these meetings, I learned to be flexible and just go with the flow, because legislators aren’t always able to meet with us.

I attended Day at the Capitol with a hope to reduce the sale of nicotine products to minors, especially flavored ones. It is important to support policies that protect youth because we are the future of the world, and we need to be healthy and safe. With every person helping, from members of Evolvement to the legislators allowing us to present to them, it makes a difference!

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!