YAHL ❘ Lead the Effort and Become a Partner

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.

Teens Making a Difference with YAHL by Mia Vizueth

I’m Mia Vizueth, and I’m a junior at Stilwell High School. For the past two years, I’ve been part of an amazing program called YAHL, which stands for Youth Action for Health Leadership. YAHL brings together students from all over Oklahoma who are just as fired up about making a difference as I am. It’s […]

How YAHL Shaped My High School Experience by Katherine Jones

Hi, my name is Katherine Jones, and I’m a senior at Westville High School. For the past four years, I’ve had the privilege of being part of Youth Action for Health Leadership (YAHL), and this year marks my third on the Leadership Team. YAHL has been an experience that has shaped not just my high […]

Changing My School in Oktaha for the Better by Olivia Shackelford

My name is Olivia, but everyone calls me Livy. I’m from Oktaha, Oklahoma. If you don’t know where that is, it’s near Muskogee. I’m a member of YAHL (Youth Action for Health Leadership) and am honored to be on the leadership team. I feel really lucky to have such a great youth field organizer, Hannah […]

Empowering Future Leaders: My Journey with Youth Action for Health Leadership by My Nguyen

My name is My, and I am a member of the YAHL Leadership Team. I aim to promote the power of leadership among current YAHL members and future YAHL Leadership Team members. YAHL, which stands for Youth Action for Health Leadership, is a youth-led organization dedicated to enhancing youth health through campaigns such as CounterAct […]

Making a Difference: My Journey with YAHL and Health Advocacy in High School

by Brayden Duncan Hey, everyone! I’m Brayden Duncan, and I’m about to start my Junior year at Howe High School. I’ve been involved in YAHL (Youth Action for Health Leadership) for about a year now, and it’s been awesome. YAHL has two campaigns: CounterAct Tobacco and Elevate Student Health. Let’s dive into what CounterAct Tobacco […]

Making My Community Better Through YAHL by Aaliyah Larson

My name is Aaliyah Larson, and I’m currently a sophomore attending Stilwell High School. I joined YAHL in 2022, marking my first year on the YAHL Leadership Team. Being on the Leadership Team has provided an invaluable opportunity, enabling me to make new connections, practice my public speaking skills and make positive changes within my […]

Advocating for Health: My YAHL Journey by Frankie Linker

My name is Frankie. I’m 16 years old and getting ready for my junior year of high school. I wanted to share my experience with an amazing program called Youth Action for Health Leadership (YAHL). When I first learned about YAHL, I was intrigued. It offered a chance to truly make a difference in my […]

Empowering Change: My Journey with Youth Action for Health Leadership (YAHL) by Lacey Laymon

I am Lacey Laymon, a senior at Keys High School, and I have been a member of Youth Action for Health Leadership (YAHL) for two years. Currently, I serve on the state leadership team. YAHL actively engages in two youth-led campaigns: Elevate Student Health, which focuses on maintaining the health of our schools, and CounterAct […]

Making a Change in My Community by Kaydence Townsend

My name is Kaydence, and I attend Purcell High School. I first heard about Youth Action for Health Leadership (YAHL) from Aisha – one of the YAHL staff – in my class during school. To become a member of YAHL, I had to go to the training for YAHL members in the fall where we […]

Gaining Confidence as a Member of Youth Action for Health Leadership by Miguel Ramirez

My name is Miguel, and I am a junior at Howe Public Schools and a member of Youth Action for Health Leadership (YAHL). I have worked with other YAHL members on different campaign opportunities. I started getting involved in YAHL by going to the YAHL training at my school in the fall. At the training […]

My Voice Matters in YAHL by Mayra Amezcua

My name is Mayra Amezcua, and I am a junior at Howe Public Schools. YAHL stands for YouthAction for Health Leadership. YAHL has two campaigns – CounterAct Tobacco and ElevateStudent Health. CounterAct Tobacco is trying to reduce underage tobacco use while ElevateStudent Health is trying to increase access to healthy food and drinks and physical […]

Showing my School the Dangers of Teen Tobacco Use with YAHL

My name is Brayden Duncan, and I’m going to be a junior at Howe High School. I have been in YAHL for about a year. YAHL has two campaigns named Counteract Tobacco and Elevate Student Health. My first YAHL event was our fall festival, where we were able to collect a lot of surveys for […]

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 from my Youth Field Organizer (YAHL supervisor), Beverly. During the training, Beverly educated me and many […]

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 have 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 […]

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

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 and […]

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 and 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 […]

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 Tobacco or Elevate Student Health. I decided to join because I loved that YAHL is not only pointing out […]

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 […]

Making a Difference in Coalgate, Oklahoma by Brecken Hunt

Hello everyone, my name is Brecken. I live in Atoka, but I 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 wanted […]

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 […]

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