YAHL ❘ Lead the Effort and Become a Partner

Why I Joined YAHL by Deiondra Howard

I am Deiondra Howard. I’m from Coalgate, Oklahoma and I’m currently 16 years old. I chose to join YAHL because I want to improve my community. As a teen, in high school, I am exposed to a lot of vaping on a daily basis. I think that YAHL can help to improve the problem of teen vaping.

Why is teen vaping a problem? Using nicotine in adolescence can harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. With YAHL we are trying to take power out of the big tobacco company’s hands.

YAHL also has another campaign called Elevate Student Health. What Elevate Student Health is trying to do is change school policies so school youth have access to healthy foods, physical activity, and safe, clean water.

Teens, especially between the ages of 14 -17 are at high risk to start vaping, and children between the ages of 5 to 6 are at the highest risk of becoming overweight. As YAHL members we want to help better these problems!

How YAHL’s Campaigns Showed Me a New Perspective on Oklahoma Health Disparities

My name is Carina Chen. I am a junior at Classen SAS @NE high school and a member of the leadership team at Youth Action for Health and Leadership (YAHL). I first heard about YAHL in my biomedical class by my Youth Field Organizer (YAHL supervisor), Beverly. During the training, Beverly educated many of my […]

How YAHL Leadership Team Prepared Me to Make Change by Payton Bounds

My name is Payton Bounds, I am a senior at Purcell high school. I worked with many students who are a part of YAHL and on the leadership team. At the YAHL summit, we all gather from across Oklahoma for a few days to learn more about leadership. I originally joined YAHL for the volunteering […]

My Experience with YAHL by Emma Teague

I am Emma Teague and I am going to be a senior at Keys High school. This year is my first year being on the Youth Action for Health Leadership (YAHL) leadership team. My first experience with YAHL was at the training hosted at my High school. Later that year, I participated in YAHL Swap […]

Why Health Activism is Important to Me? by Lillian Dallis

Hello, My name is Lillian. I am 15, and I’m from Park Hill, Tahlequah. YAHL is a program that talks about unhealthy ways and habits that can affect your life. You may learn new things, meet new people, and make new friends along the way! We talk about how to better Oklahoma for kids, teens, […]

Sparking Change for this Generation and the Next by Braden Mensack

My name is Braden Mensack. I am a senior from Keys high school and have beenadvocating through the Youth Action for Health Leadership (YAHL) program for almost twoyears. YAHL is a youth-led advocacy organization focused on improving the health andwell-being of youth in the state of Oklahoma. I decided that I needed to join the […]

Passing Policies to Protect Youth by Aaron Roy

Hello, my name is Aaron Roy and I’m 15 from Duncan Ok. I work with the youth program called YAHL which is an acronym for Youth Action for Health Leadership. We try to raise health standards for youth all over Oklahoma. I joined YAHL to become a better version of myself. I’m glad that I’m […]

My Goal? Stopping Big Tobacco! by Rhianna Dumas

My name is Rhianna Dumas and I’m 14. I was born in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and stayed there until I was 7, now I live in Oklahoma City. This past year I joined a program called YAHL. YAHL stands for Youth Action for Health Leadership and we work with TSET to get better health choices at […]

Giving a Voice to the Voiceless by My Nguyen

Hello, my name is My Nguyen, I am 15 and I live in Oklahoma City. I’m a member of YAHL, which stands for Youth Action for Health Leadership. In YAHL, we work on two youth-led campaigns: CounterAct Tobacco and Elevate Student Health. I joined YAHL because it is a really good way to help my […]

My Journey with YAHL by Mayra Amezcua

Hi, my name is Mayra and I’m from Howe Public Schools, I am currently 14 years old. I’m a part of an organization called Youth Action for Health Leadership or YAHL. I joined YAHL to try something new. When I joined I was hoping to gain leadership skills, better public speaking skills, and earn scholarships. […]

Working Hard to Make a Difference by Essence Felder

Hello, I’m Essence Felder. I currently live in OKC, Oklahoma and I’m 16. YAHL stands for Youth Action for Health Leadership. YAHL’s main goal is to better youth’s lives as a whole, be it through CounterAct or Elevate. I decided to join because I loved that YAHL is not only pointing out problems in the […]

Why I Joined YAHL by Deiondra Howard

Making a Difference in Coalgate, Oklahoma by Brecken Hunt

YAHL Impacts My Community for the Better by Carina Chen

Making a Difference in Coalgate, Oklahoma by Brecken Hunt

Hello everyone, my name is Brecken, I live in Atoka, but go to school in Coalgate, and I am 16. I work with a student-led organization called YAHL. YAHL stands for Youth Action for Health Leadership. I joined for two reasons. First, I wanted to have a bit of fun, and second, I want to help my school and community for the future. I attended a summit for the YAHL Leadership Team, and while at the Leadership Team summit I’ve had opportunities to learn more about how I can help my school and community.

While at the Leadership Team Summit, I have been able to grow as a person. YAHL has helped me to hone in on my skills, such as public speaking, networking, leadership, and more. The opportunities YAHL has given me are endless. For my college application for example, I can use that I’ve been on the Leadership Team for YAHL, along with the amount of community service hours volunteering with YAHL has provided. The experience YAHL has given me will help me be the best, and do the best I can do. The main reason why I joined YAHL was to help regulate tobacco usage among youth and have better health options for my school, Coalgate High School. Many Coalgate High School students have been addicted to or still are addicted to drugs and alcohol, and there are people in our community that have gotten cancer from the local water source.

If I can help save my school, the future students can live a better life than the youth before them. They will have better and safer water, their physical activity will be better, and they will have healthier options in the cafeteria as well. I want to bring awareness for the people of Oklahoma so they can make a difference in their lives too.

How YAHL’s Campaigns Showed Me a New Perspective on Oklahoma Health Disparities

How YAHL Leadership Team Prepared Me to Make Change by Payton Bounds

My Experience with YAHL by Emma Teague

Why Health Activism is Important to Me? by Lillian Dallis

Sparking Change for this Generation and the Next by Braden Mensack

Passing Policies to Protect Youth by Aaron Roy

My Goal? Stopping Big Tobacco! by Rhianna Dumas

Giving a Voice to the Voiceless by My Nguyen

My Journey with YAHL by Mayra Amezcua

Working Hard to Make a Difference by Essence Felder

Why I Joined YAHL by Deiondra Howard

Making a Difference in Coalgate, Oklahoma by Brecken Hunt

YAHL Impacts My Community for the Better by Carina Chen

Hello, my name is Carina Chen. I am fourteen years old, I am from Oklahoma, and last, but definitely not least, I am a member of the leadership team at YAHL. YAHL stands for Youth Action for Health and Leadership and they are a health activist group working towards two campaigns: Counteract Tobacco and Elevate Student Health. These campaigns collect surveys and communicate with lawmakers and school administration to change policies to help restrict tobacco usage in youth and encourage them to make healthy decisions. I originally decided to join YAHL so I could be more present in my community and participate in another extracurricular activity. However, now that I have become a leadership team member, I have gained that and so much more such as confidence, social skills, friends, and connections. Plus, the health activism threat YAHL works on is important in the case that a large percentage of Oklahoma youth is unhealthy and use tobacco products. In future years, I hope I can use the tools that YAHL has given me to really make an impact and better my community and its health.

I want to see change within my community because everyday I see many of my peers making bad choices with their life and I am sad to think of how many opportunities are going down the drain due to the lack of knowledge and encouragement. YAHL has helped me accomplish many of my goals. For example, after collecting surveys and talking to people about this campaign I have gained confidence in public speaking and talking to strangers. To make a bigger impact on my community I would like to go on to give a partner presentation to my district’s school board and talk to some of the state’s legislatures.

While my personal goals benefit me and give me motivation, they also help to uplift my community. For example, when I gained experience talking to strangers it helped me to collect more surveys, thus getting more data to convince lawmakers and the people in charge. The others in my community also benefit by being restricted from inhaling toxic chemicals that come from tobacco products, and being provided with healthy options that they can fine tune to habits and routines when they become adults. They can also be benefitted by gaining social skills and confidence if they join this program. They can join if their high school already offers it or they can request it as well! I would definitely recommend this program to anyone as not only can they improve themselves, they also uplift their community simultaneously.

How YAHL’s Campaigns Showed Me a New Perspective on Oklahoma Health Disparities

How YAHL Leadership Team Prepared Me to Make Change by Payton Bounds

My Experience with YAHL by Emma Teague

Why Health Activism is Important to Me? by Lillian Dallis

Sparking Change for this Generation and the Next by Braden Mensack

Passing Policies to Protect Youth by Aaron Roy

My Goal? Stopping Big Tobacco! by Rhianna Dumas

Giving a Voice to the Voiceless by My Nguyen

My Journey with YAHL by Mayra Amezcua

Working Hard to Make a Difference by Essence Felder

Why I Joined YAHL by Deiondra Howard

Making a Difference in Coalgate, Oklahoma by Brecken Hunt

YAHL Impacts My Community for the Better by Carina Chen

Being a YAHL Leadership Team Member – Casey Stewart

Hello, I’m Casey Stewart from Wynnewood High School. YAHL was introduced to our school around January of 2022. When I heard about YAHL, I initially signed up because I wanted prizes from the prize store, but during events and trainings I have grown to love everything about the program.

My absolute favorite thing I have done with YAHL was the Leadership Team. The Leadership Team was something that we had to apply for so we could attend the Summit in June. When I arrived in OKC for the Summit I was a little bit nervous that it was going to be boring, and I was even more nervous when my best friend and I weren’t assigned for roommates, and don’t even get me started on the first time we had to walk to dinner in the summer heat. Once I overcame the heat and the challenges of trying to meet new people, I had a great time. We learned about how to talk to adults and how to tell people about YAHL and our two campaigns: CounterAct and Elevate Student Health. We also learned about Public speaking and how we can recruit new members to YAHL.

The Leadership Team will also be great for events that I participate in in the future. Last year I did an event with Elevate where we got surveys, looking back on that we didn’t really know as much about Elevate, we really just told them to take the survey and get a prize. Now that I have attended the Leadership summit I know how to properly tell people about Elevate and CounterAct. This coming year I hope to be able to recruit more students to our program and participate in more events.

How YAHL’s Campaigns Showed Me a New Perspective on Oklahoma Health Disparities

How YAHL Leadership Team Prepared Me to Make Change by Payton Bounds

My Experience with YAHL by Emma Teague

Why Health Activism is Important to Me? by Lillian Dallis

Sparking Change for this Generation and the Next by Braden Mensack

Passing Policies to Protect Youth by Aaron Roy

My Goal? Stopping Big Tobacco! by Rhianna Dumas

Giving a Voice to the Voiceless by My Nguyen

My Journey with YAHL by Mayra Amezcua

Working Hard to Make a Difference by Essence Felder

Why I Joined YAHL by Deiondra Howard

Making a Difference in Coalgate, Oklahoma by Brecken Hunt

YAHL Impacts My Community for the Better by Carina Chen

Why Health Activism Matters to Me by Lauren Pinner

Hi my name is Lauren Pinner, I live in OKC, and I am 14 years old. Last year I joined the YAHL program at my school. Yahl is a youth leadership program, and we are trying to make Oklahoma a healthier place. I decided to join the yahl program because it has amazing goals and I believe that it can truly make a difference for our future generations. Health activism matters to me because many kids aren’t taught healthy habits at a young age, and teens are getting targeted by tobacco companies.

Most schools don’t have a policy for having healthy food options, testing their waters, and physical activity for teens. Teens are supposed to have at least 60 minutes of physical activity everyday and schools aren’t encouraging it. Teens are also getting targeted by tobacco companies again by selling flavored vape products by doing the same thing that they did years ago by saying they are a healthier way to smoke. They are trying to get people addicted at a young age so they get more money.

In the near future we can help give healthier life styles to youth, and get clean water for the schools that don’t have it. We will also stop tobacco companies from targeting youth with vaping products. Tobacco companies need to have a strict policy for who they sell their products to or else they will always keep making new products to sell to teens. Yahl is an amazing program and I believe that it will make a huge difference in the near future.

Differences it can make: if youth don’t have any tobacco vaping products then schools don’t need the smoke detectors in bathrooms. That would let them have extra spending money for getting waters tested, and healthier food options in our cafeterias. If we eat healthier and have more physical activities then we will have more energy and will be able to focus more to preform better in school.

You can help by joining the YAHL team and recruiting other high schoolers to help grow our team!

How YAHL’s Campaigns Showed Me a New Perspective on Oklahoma Health Disparities

How YAHL Leadership Team Prepared Me to Make Change by Payton Bounds

My Experience with YAHL by Emma Teague

Why Health Activism is Important to Me? by Lillian Dallis

Sparking Change for this Generation and the Next by Braden Mensack

Passing Policies to Protect Youth by Aaron Roy

My Goal? Stopping Big Tobacco! by Rhianna Dumas

Giving a Voice to the Voiceless by My Nguyen

My Journey with YAHL by Mayra Amezcua

Working Hard to Make a Difference by Essence Felder

Why I Joined YAHL by Deiondra Howard

Making a Difference in Coalgate, Oklahoma by Brecken Hunt

YAHL Impacts My Community for the Better by Carina Chen

Why I Joined the YAHL Team

Hello, my name is Karli Everett from Chelsea, Ok and I’m 14 years old. I am apart of a program called YAHL. YAHL is a youth led organization to help teens have better physical activity and healthy foods along with having clean drinking water. I hope to gain more leadership skills along with better public speaking skills. I joined because I want to change the tobacco laws where tobacco products are out of reach for young children, teens, and young adults. Two unhealthy trends I see in my generation are lack of physical activity and vaping which we can help because if we take power out of big tobacco companies hands and give it to ourselves, we can help get the tobacco products out of reach with our CounterAct Tobacco campaign and we can help get physical activity into schools with our Elevate Student Health campaign.

Lack of physical activity is making my generation have more health problems like obesity, diabetes, and even heart problems. Its affecting mainly 11 to 24 year olds. I think YAHL can help by promoting more physical activity by having posters up around the schools along with promoting the program during activities in the school and community. I will be talking to my principal and school board to help get my school to add in the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Members of the community can partner with the YAHL program and support us by letting us talk to their audience and collect surveys based on our campaigns.

The CounterAct campaign has taught me how vaping is unhealthy because it is harmful to the body and organs. Did you know Oklahoma is only 1 of 20 states without retail licensure for e-cigarettes, vapor, and other nicotine products? Requiring a licensure helps regulate nicotine products and the sale of nicotine products to children. 90% of nicotine addictions start before the user is 18. The young teens ages 15-17 are mainly affected by vaping, and I know many of my peers are in this category. YAHL can help by requiring stores to have a license to sell tobacco/vapor products and that could help reduce the use of products in young adults and teens.

I want to help reduce the use of tobacco/vapor products in youth and help youth get more physical activity. I want to help by talking to my school board or my principal to pass a new policy. You can help support YAHL, because with you, we can help make Oklahoma a better, safer environment for everyone. Join YAHL today by going to my.yahlok.org/apply.

How YAHL’s Campaigns Showed Me a New Perspective on Oklahoma Health Disparities

How YAHL Leadership Team Prepared Me to Make Change by Payton Bounds

My Experience with YAHL by Emma Teague

Why Health Activism is Important to Me? by Lillian Dallis

Sparking Change for this Generation and the Next by Braden Mensack

Passing Policies to Protect Youth by Aaron Roy

My Goal? Stopping Big Tobacco! by Rhianna Dumas

Giving a Voice to the Voiceless by My Nguyen

My Journey with YAHL by Mayra Amezcua

Working Hard to Make a Difference by Essence Felder

Why I Joined YAHL by Deiondra Howard

Making a Difference in Coalgate, Oklahoma by Brecken Hunt

YAHL Impacts My Community for the Better by Carina Chen

YAHL Leadership Team Prepares for Summit

This June a group of YAHL leaders from around Oklahoma will meet for four days in OKC at the first annual YAHL Leadership Team Summit. These students applied for this select opportunity for a variety of reasons, but they are united by a passion for the health of themselves and their peers. Here’s a look at what some of our Leadership Team have to say.

Some of the students are passionate about the issues of teen tobacco-use and obesity. Aidan Moistner says, “I want to be in YAHL LT so I can spread awareness about teen smoking and obesity.” Lacey Lamon is motivated by change: “I’m very passionate about not only a healthy school but a healthy community free from tobacco so this was a very great opportunity to share some policy ideas for community members that can help make change.” And Aaron Roy is focussed on policy change. He says, “I want to be immersed in the YAHL LT so that I can develop the required skills to lead a team, talk to a public group, and to encourage/persuade people to join the cause that I am wanting them to join.” At Summit, these students will get to share ideas around YAHL issues and get ready to make a difference in their communities next school year.

Others are excited by gaining leadership skills and meeting other YAHL leaders from around the state. Grace Foster wants to make friends and learn how to make her school a safer environment for all. Naquya Ellison agrees and wants “to help people be better and help communities succeed.” Braden Mensack says, “I hope to meet with fellow leaders from my state and learn about further opportunities.” At Summit these YAHL Leadership Team members will work together to do good and make a difference.

YAHL has had an amazing first year, and with an amazing group of students prepared to form our first leadership team, year two looks to be even better. At summit, this group of YAHL leaders will gain the skills, knowledge, and confidence to be the leaders our state needs. They will also connect with other YAHL leaders to make their efforts travel even further. It’s going to be a great summer for YAHL!

How YAHL’s Campaigns Showed Me a New Perspective on Oklahoma Health Disparities

How YAHL Leadership Team Prepared Me to Make Change by Payton Bounds

My Experience with YAHL by Emma Teague

Why Health Activism is Important to Me? by Lillian Dallis

Sparking Change for this Generation and the Next by Braden Mensack

Passing Policies to Protect Youth by Aaron Roy

My Goal? Stopping Big Tobacco! by Rhianna Dumas

Giving a Voice to the Voiceless by My Nguyen

My Journey with YAHL by Mayra Amezcua

Working Hard to Make a Difference by Essence Felder

Why I Joined YAHL by Deiondra Howard

Making a Difference in Coalgate, Oklahoma by Brecken Hunt

YAHL Impacts My Community for the Better by Carina Chen

What I Learned about the CounterAct Tobacco Campaign

By Natiya Ellison

My name is Natiya Ellison, and I go to Southeast high school. I am in the 9th grade. This is my first year with the YAHL program. I will be talking about the CounterAct Tobacco campaign and the policies that affect youth.

The YAHL staff educated us about tobacco policies during our training. We learned that minors get in more trouble if they buy tobacco products from stores, and if they get caught, the store just gets charged a fine. Learning this highlighted for me why the policies are very important. I believe this also isn’t right because people are dying from this. Cigarettes are one of the most dangerous tobacco products. Tobacco can cause cancer and so much more. Some Oklahomans are ok with this because they probably do not know this is happening.

The CounterAct Tobacco Campaign works on helping youth stop and prevents others from using Tobacco and vaping products. I think this will stop others and help them make better choices. I know joining the YAHL program helps you realize that it’s terrible for your body when you smoke or vape, such as your lungs, heart, etc. My part in the program is to help by educating people about YAHL, collecting surveys, and teaching my peers how we are purposely targeted with ads and products. I am willing to help them stop before it’s too late. You never know if your family members could be next.

The CounterAct Tobacco campaign helps people understand the effects of using Tobacco. The tobacco industry tries to get young children to smoke to make a profit off of youth by getting them interested in smoking at an early age. They do this every year because the people are dying from Tobacco, so they target new people in new ways. They don’t care about your health. They care about your money.

How YAHL’s Campaigns Showed Me a New Perspective on Oklahoma Health Disparities

How YAHL Leadership Team Prepared Me to Make Change by Payton Bounds

My Experience with YAHL by Emma Teague

Why Health Activism is Important to Me? by Lillian Dallis

Sparking Change for this Generation and the Next by Braden Mensack

Passing Policies to Protect Youth by Aaron Roy

My Goal? Stopping Big Tobacco! by Rhianna Dumas

Giving a Voice to the Voiceless by My Nguyen

My Journey with YAHL by Mayra Amezcua

Working Hard to Make a Difference by Essence Felder

Why I Joined YAHL by Deiondra Howard

Making a Difference in Coalgate, Oklahoma by Brecken Hunt

YAHL Impacts My Community for the Better by Carina Chen

The Damages of Tobacco

Hello, my name is Grace Burton. I live in Stilwell, Oklahoma, and I am a junior at Stilwell High School. YAHL stands for Youth Action for Health Leadership. YAHL is a program that promotes a tobacco-free, healthy lifestyle by promoting comprehensive retail licensing for vapes & strengthening school wellness policies. What I hope to get out of YAHL are opportunities for leadership and to promote a tobacco-free lifestyle for youth around me. Kids my age are getting addicted to using nicotine way too young. Vapes and alcohol are very popular with today’s youth. I believe YAHL can help the growing problem of substance addiction.

Why is vaping unhealthy? Vapes contain nicotine and other potentially harmful ingredients such as ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs. This is dangerous because vaping can lead to higher risks of getting lung disease and lung cancer. Kids experiencing anxiety from school, or toxic home life situations, are most likely to be exposed to these products. YAHL can help because there are opportunities to reach these young children and get the word out that vaping is becoming a problem with these young children. Young children may not listen to adults but tend to look up to older teens, like myself, who this program is led by. Community members can help by supporting the policies the YAHL program is trying to promote.

Alcohol is toxic for youth in many ways. People under the age of 21 have brains that are not fully developed, which can lead to alcoholism. Some of the following are risks that come with alcohol addiction are: High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, & digestive problems. Teens with family members who are addicted to alcohol are more at risk than others to use alcohol. YAHL can help this issue by reaching these children on social media by showing them how to live healthy and why it is important. Community members can help by supporting the policies that YAHL are trying to promote.

I am passionate about trying to get youth tobacco-free. As a YAHL member it is our duty to help these kids who got addicted way too young. You can learn more by following YAHL on Instagram @yahloklahoma, or by checking out the website at www.yahlok.org.

How YAHL’s Campaigns Showed Me a New Perspective on Oklahoma Health Disparities

How YAHL Leadership Team Prepared Me to Make Change by Payton Bounds

My Experience with YAHL by Emma Teague

Why Health Activism is Important to Me? by Lillian Dallis

Sparking Change for this Generation and the Next by Braden Mensack

Passing Policies to Protect Youth by Aaron Roy

My Goal? Stopping Big Tobacco! by Rhianna Dumas

Giving a Voice to the Voiceless by My Nguyen

My Journey with YAHL by Mayra Amezcua

Working Hard to Make a Difference by Essence Felder

Why I Joined YAHL by Deiondra Howard

Making a Difference in Coalgate, Oklahoma by Brecken Hunt

YAHL Impacts My Community for the Better by Carina Chen

Checotah High School Sophomore Keeps Active with YAHL

My name is Aiyana Brewer. I will be a 2025 graduate from Checotah High School. Like my school experience, this is my first year with YAHL. As you may know, YAHL is a Program of TSET for Health Leadership.

Youth Action for Health Leadership (YAHL) helps communities and teens live a healthier lifestyle such as physical activities, drinking water, and eating healthier foods. Physical activity impacts my life because I play sports such as basketball, track, and cross country. Along with sports I have to eat healthy to stay in shape. Being healthy and active is very important to me. My family and I all believe being healthy mentally and physically is the number one thing.

At school, nutrition is important. At lunch it’s required to get a fruit and they recommend drinking a lot of water. We also have a courtyard for the people at lunch to be active. My school has after school programs that help people stay active and healthy. Although the school does have its flaws such as vending machines, junk food, and celebrations. Personally I think it’s okay to have these things but i feel we don’t need as much as we have. With YAHL and the Elevate Student Health policy it could help students be healthier.

With YAHL I have helped my school stay healthy by doing things such as, helping in our Winter Wonderland event, taking surveys, helping others take surveys, and spreading the word about YAHL. Things that I have learned with YAHL are that students actually want to live healthier lives. By changing the current health policies in Oklahoma, we can help students stay healthy!

Written by: Aiyana Brewer