STUDENTS AGAINST VIOLENCE EVERYWHERE ~
MEET THE 2009 - 2010 NATIONAL YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD (YAB) MEMBERS

Nigel Cox
School: Farmville Central High School, NC
Advisor:
Cam Coburn Grade: Sophomore

Nigel Cox is a sophomore at Farmville Central High School. He has been a member of SAVE for four years. Those past four years have been awesome. In the last three years, he has held two SAVE positions which gave him an opportunity to learn responsibility. The first position Nigel held was Vice President in 2006-2007, and the second position was Sergeant of Arms in 2007-2008. His experience as a Vice President and Sergeant of Arms has enhanced his leadership skills and enabled him to work with a diverse group of people.

Along with being a member of SAVE, Nigel is involved with the youth in his church. He likes to keep the kids involved and to let them know what is going on around the world. He also works with his grandparent's franchise to keep himself from getting involved with any destructive decisions. In addition, Nigel mime dances with youths his age and younger to teach them about responsibility.

Through Nigel's experience with SAVE, he has learned while also having fun. Being a member of the Youth Advisory Board, he hopes to bring more ideas and bring those ideas and others back home to Farmville. Nigel says, "I'm looking forward to this year's Youth Advisory Board and to see what the future brings me."

Dinh Doan
School: Montbello High School, CO
Advisor: Kris Bethscheider
Grade: Sophomore

Dinh Doan is a Sophomore at Montbello High School. He was introduced to SAVE two years ago by a fellow YAB member. When Dinh learned about SAVE he thought it sounded interesting. He thinks violence is a worldwide problem and he feels this is how he is going to help and do his part in the world. As a YABber for the 2009-2010 school year he hopes to use this opportunity to get more of his fellow peers to be involved and to help his community. Dinh enjoys going to the park to play basketball, football, tennis, and baseball with his friends. During spare time he likes to read and spend time with his family. Dinh is an Honor Roll student, he has received a Mile High Scholar award, he's apart of Gear-Up and he has outstanding leadership skills. Outside of school he does community service, daycare, and he is an assistant elementary school basketball coach. Dinh believes violence prevention is by taking any opportunities fix the problem than to do nothing at all. In his words “it is better to be a rescuer than a bystander.”

Hannah Froh
School: Chandler High School, OK
Advisor: Diann Hermann
Grade: Senior

Hannah Froh is very excited to be a part of the Youth Advisory Board for the SAVE organization. She believes that this opportunity will allow her the opportunity to make a difference not only to the students in her community and state, but provide her the resources and ability to impact her nation and world.

Hannah is a senior at Chandler High School where she has been an active member of Positive Peers, a chapter of the SAVE organization. Her SAVE Advisor at Chandler High School is Mrs. Diann Herrmann. This will be Hannah's third year as a member of this organization. She enjoys being a positive mentor and influence to her peers, young and old, and believes that "one must live by example" if they wish to impact their world. She believes in hard work, determination, and dedication. She lives by the quote: "Be the change you want to see in the world." - M. Ghandi

Hannah is a 4.0 student, with a goal of achieving the honor of Valedictorian upon graduation, and attending medical school pursuing a career as an Orthopedic Surgeon. Hannah is also a member of PSI (Postponing Sexual Involvement), National Honor Society, Oklahoma State Honor Society, Co-Captain of the Varsity Cheer Squad, Varsity Cross Country Team, Varsity Track Team, Chemistry Club, and Student Council. She is a volunteer cheer coach for the Chandler Youth Organization and finds this an excellent opportunity to mentor young girls and teach them the importance of self acceptance and making positive choices in their lives. She recently attended 2009 Girls State; and served on the Youth Leadership Oklahoma Youth Board IX, an opportunity awarded to only 52 junior students throughout the state. She has attended RYLA - Rotary Youth Leadership, and was nominated for the local chapter EWSIP scholarship program.

Hannah is also very active in her church, serving on the Youth Worship Team, teaching in the Children's Ministries, working during VBS, and assisting in Audio/Visual during the main church services. She has helped to distribute school supplies to numerous children, served in local and nationwide mission's projects, and worked at the Regional Food Bank.

Candy Gonzalez
School: Montbello High School, CO
Advisor: Kris Bethscheider
Grade: Sophomore

Candy Gonzalez is a sophomore at Montbello High School in Denver, Colorado. This is Candy's third year involved in SAVE and her second year on the National Youth Advisory Board (YAB). Candy is very committed to what she does and is a leader. Candy says" Violence is a huge problem, We know we can't all the violence, But if were not doing anything to solve it, then were being a part of the problem" She would describe herself as a friendly, caring, and very dedicated and committed person.

In Candy's spare time she likes to read, draw, volunteering, playing the viola, and anything fun. She enjoys camping in the mountains, snowboarding, and traveling. She does volunteer work for many things including hospitals, schools, churches, Race for Cure, Childrens Museum, and non-profit organizations. She has recieved the JROTC US Army Recruiting Command Award for Achievement and earned many medals at JROTC Army Summer Camp.

Candy is involved in SAVE, JROTC, Honor Platoon Drill Team, Color Guard, Is an assistant for her Battalion Staff, Montbello High School's Orchestra, CityWide Orchestra, and is on her school's Honor Roll. Outside of school she is involved in Church of Ascension's Youth Group, and E.L.K.(Environmental Learning for Kids).

Brehanna Jordan
School: North Chicago High School, IL
Advisor: Vernell Whitaker
Grade: Senior

Brehanna Jordan is a senior at North Chicago Community High School in North Chicago, Illinois. This is her fifth year involved in SAVE and her third year as a member of the National Youth Advisory Board (YAB). She would describe herself as a fun, loving person who is committed to completing the task on hand.

Brehanna encourages her peers to prevent violence by getting more involved in positive activities and programs. She believes that young people need to be more positive about LIFE. Many students engage in negative activities because they are just simply bored. She agrees that violence affects the entire community. It is not just the victim's family that grieves. A "Youth March" would be an excellent opportunity to allow neighborhoods to come together and develop unity. Brehanna wants to be part of a team that believes they can make a difference in violence prevention. This year She plans to recruit and encourage her peers to join the task. As a member of the National SAVE Youth Advisory Board, Brehanna wants to bring the ideas, experiences, excitement to North Chicago and help lead the local chapter. Brehanna states, "I will attempt to replicate programs and activities that I learn from the National level in North Chicago."

Brehanna is involved in many positive activities such as the National Honor Society, Student Council, North Chicago Leadership Academy and XPLORE Technology Program. She enjoys being a Cheerleader for the football and basketball seasons. She also received first place for the 19th Judicial Circuit Court "Stop the Violence" poster contest.

Kalynn Kowitz
School: Wilmot Union High School, WI
Advisor: Karlee Hanneman
Grade: Senior

Kalynn Kowitz is a senior at Wilmot Union High School and the President of Wilmot's SAVE chapter. Kalynn was first introduced to SAVE at the 2nd Annual "Be Violence Free" event in North Chicago, IL, and represented the Chapter on WGN Channel 9's news broadcast. She is one of the co-founders of the Wilmot Union High School SAVE Chapter, along with Ms. Lena and Kayla Harmon.

This is her third year on the Youth Advisory Board. Kalynn says, "My school may not be the most violent in the country, but it's not without its problems! Disagreements are frequent though they only occasionally become physical, even I've argued with people sometimes! It's human nature to have disagreements, but it's still your decision whether to react to them or not"

Kalynn is an active member in band, choir, and drama. Also, is a member of Wilmot's singing group, Sgt. Peppers. In 2006, Kalynn attended the Girls Leadership Institute (GLI), which was founded by Rachel Simmons. Simmons is the author of Odd Girl Out and Odd Girl Speaks Out. Kalynn is an avid fan of anime, enjoys swimming, and loves working with animals! She plans to study Zoology after she graduates from high school.

Jonai Lloyd
School: Laney High School, NC
Advisor: Beth Keller
Grade: Senior

Jonai Lloyd is a senior at E. A. Laney High School in Wilmington, NC. This is her third year involved in SAVE and her second year as a member of the National Youth Advisory Board (YAB). She is excited about being a member the National SAVE Youth Advisory Board and adding her contributions to all the SAVE projects. She would describe herself as somebody who loves to have lots of fun, but is extremely loyal to family and friends. Jonai became involved with SAVE upon the recommendation of her peers to the SAVE Advisor at her school. She considers it an honor that she was recommended and takes her SAVE responsibilities very seriously. She designed the SAVE Cyberbullying brochure for which she was interviewed by ABC News and the BBC. She was the coordinator and project leader for her school’s SAVE presentation at the National SAVE Conference in Raleigh earlier this year. She encourages her fellow students to utilize the peer mediation program at her school and tries to prevent violence in any way she can. She tells her peers if they have a conflict with another student to talk it out because receiving ten days of suspension is not worth it. Jonai is very active in crime and conflict prevention programs at her school and says “Kids today have to spread the news about non-violence as a way to handle their problems. Kids should try to reach out to their peers if they know they have a problem and become involved in non-violence activities”. She is a Varsity Cheerleader for the football and basketball teams at her school and volunteers at the Children’s Museum. She participates in many service projects in her community and is also very actively involved in her church. She loves to swim and plans to major occupational therapy and physical therapy when she graduates.

John Scott
School: West Charlotte High School, NC
Advisor: Tabitha Miller
Grade: Junior

John Scott is a Junior at West Charlotte High School, the birth place of SAVE. He has been a member of SAVE for two years and has held the position of historian.

John Scott was born in October of 1993 into a family of six kids. He was a part of what people called "those Scott kids". They walked in a line when they went to the grocery store and had bedtime at nine every night. When he was seven he says he experienced a horrible thing - his parents divorced. His dad got custody of all the "Scott kids". As John entered elementary school, he moved a lot from school to school and it took awhile for them to settle in one place. His grades were good, but not as good as they could be and he didn't like to do homework. There were many calls home getting him into trouble. John says the best times of his life were during the summer with his family in South Carolina. He loved spending time with his cousins and grandma. In fourth grade the school said he had high math and reading scores and they placed him in IB for the rest of his school years. He was proud of himself and got rewarded constantly for reading - except sometimes he got in trouble for reading in class. Going into middle school he wanted to be a police oficer because he liked what they did and how they kept his family safe at night. He kept up his grades and made sure to keep making good decisions. When he got to high school he knew he was going to try his best to better himself and his community. That is what he has done through SAVE, JROTC, and emerging leaders.

John tries to prevent violence by talking to family and friends about different issues. He says "the smallest conversation can save someones life. And if other people strive to do the same thing, then I think there would be much less violence." As a member of the Youth Adviosry Board, he hopes to accomplish change and by change, he means no more violence.

Casey Story
School: Garner Magnet High School, NC
Advisor: Vickie Szarek
Grade: Junior

Casey Story is a junior at Garner Magnet High School in Garner, North Carolina. This year will be Casey's sixth year in SAVE and third year on the National Youth Advisory Board. She was awarded the National SAVE Middle School Student of the Year for 2006-2007 as well as the Presidential Volunteer Service Award. Casey has always been interested in violence prevention.

As a SAVE member, and just as a person, Casey does all she can to prevent and end violence. She tries to befriend all kinds of people, especially those who are bullied, and is there to defend others to prevent fights and more bullying. Casey performs community service projects and gets others involved to make her community more violence-free. She has been the president of her chapter at Garner Magnet High School for the past two years, and took many leadership roles when she was a part of East Garner Magnet Middle School's SAVE chapter.

As a National Youth Advisory Board Member, Casey hopes to use her prior experience and knowledge of SAVE to make the 2009 National SAVE Summit the best yet, and reach even more people. She also hopes to help SAVE keep growing and have chapters in all 50 states.

Casey has been active with Chorus, Choral Council, Invisible Children, Beta Club, Spanish Club, different Drama productions, Girl Scouts and with her Church Youth Group. She believes that constructive activities is one of the many ways to prevent violence and tries to get others involved with SAVE too.

Cassady Tetsworth
School: Northwest High School, NC
Advisor: Officer Joe Pass
Grade: Senior

Cassady is a senior at Northwest High school in Greensboro, NC. This is her sixth year being involved with SAVE . She loves being a part of the Youth Advisory Board. On the board she can voice her opinions to help stop violence. She remembers her first year as a SAVE member, and how it hooked her to try to make a difference. She participated in "Walk as One," which fought bias, bigotry, and racism. Cassady thought it was amazing to see so many people coming together for the cause. During this past year her club focused on safe teen driving. They participated in R U Buckled and set up a crashed car to show students the dangers of reckless driving. She loves working with her club; it is extremely powerful for Cassady to see students joining together to make our school safer.

Being in High School is an awesome opportunity for Cassady to spread the word of SAVE. Her club participates in "Grim Reaper Day" annually, and it is our favorite event. We make shirts that show statistics of people being victims of violence and other destructive decisions. They dress in all black and each member of the club represents someone that was a victim to destructive decisions. This makes a big impact on the school when students see so many people coming together to make a difference. This year Cassady is serving as President of our SAVE chapter. She hopes to spread the word about reducing conflict by staying positive and having an open mind.

Cassady puts all of her efforts into whatever she dpes, and leads a very busy life. In 2005, Cassady received the President's Volunteer Service Award and the Win Win Resolution Young Peacemaker Award. She is also very proud to be the "SAVE Student of the Year" for 2005-2006. She loves to peer tutor and participate in service activities. She has the most fun in being a member of the marching band and winter guard. She is also active in her church youth group, and is working towards her Gold award in Girl Scouts. Cassady hopes to bring the words of SAVE to all those organizations.

For Further Information:
If you are interested in serving on the National SAVE Youth Advisory Board you can call the National Association of SAVE at (919) 661-7800 or 866-343-SAVE.

National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere SAVE: Youth Voices... Grown-Up Choices! Toll Free 866-343-SAVE For more information contact cwray@nationalsave.org   /   Copyright 2012