Forum 2019 & Agent of Change Award from First Lady Melania Trump

Hi everyone! Similar to the past few years, CADCA's annual Forum took place in National Harbor, Maryland at the Gaylord Convention Center the first week of February. This year the youth section had a record breaking number of attendance - around 450 youth!

This Forum was one of the most meaningful weeks not only because I was able to give presentations on public speaking and advocacy and policy change, but also because I was able to reconnect with youth attendees that I hadn't seen in two years or even a few months. It is always a surreal and humbling feeling to see people who remember you and want to catch up with you to make up for lost time.

This is something that I've always encountered with people who work or volunteer in the prevention field: they want to see the humanity behind every individual they encounter. This always ties back to the root of the negative stigma that addiction has; the general population for years has not been encouraged to view addiction as a disease and addicts as individuals with full lives who have fallen prey to it due to multiple factors that were out of their control. If we take the time to see the humanity behind every person we meet, every substance-related conversation would be completely different.

On the final day of Forum, the First Lady Melania Trump visited the youth section. The First Lady provided words of support for the ongoing prevention work that each youth was working hard to participate in and the urgency to battle the opioid epidemic. It was incredible to hear someone like the First Lady confirm to hundreds of youth that what they are fighting for is worthwhile and extremely important.

As the First Lady finished her initial address to the youth, she stated that she will be giving out Agent of Change Awards to the CADCA Youth Trainers. I, along with three other CADCA Youth Trainers, had the privilege of getting this award from the First Lady along with the Chairman and CEO of CADCA, General Dean.

I'm beyond excited for what the future holds and the large capacity for growth that I aspire to fulfill!