Shawnee Teen Addresses Statewide Health Leaders
There's a certain kind of confidence it takes for a high schooler to stand in front of a room full of statewide health leaders and make the case that teenagers deserve a seat at the table. This week, a Shawnee junior did exactly that.
Khloe De La Garza, a student at Shawnee High School, took the stage at the Oklahoma Public Health Association's annual conference alongside her Youth Action Health Leadership (YAHL) team. Their message was simple: teen voices can drive meaningful impact locally and across the state as a whole.
The YAHL program is a statewide youth-led initiative funded by the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET). Each year, over 1,200 youth from 45 schools and organizations complete activities to move three policy change campaigns forward: elevate Student Health, CounterAct Tobacco, and 24/7 Tobacco-Free Schools. Youth earn community service hours and rewards while tackling important public health issues.
Public health decisions shape the lives of young people constantly, from mental health resources to substance use prevention to access to care, yet teenagers are rarely the ones in the room when those decisions get made. Khloe and her YAHL teammates challenged that gap directly, presenting to a room of professionals who spend their careers working on exactly these issues.
YAHL also walked away from the conference with the Public Health Promotion and Excellence Award, a recognition accepted by Khloe on the group's behalf for their work advocating for youth involvement in public health efforts across the state.
Congratulations to Khloe De La Garza and the entire YAHL team on a well-earned honor, and on reminding Pottawatomie County just how much good can come from listening to its youngest leaders.
