This morning, ADAPT (Alcohol & Drug Abuse Prevention Team) hosted their 2015 Teen Summit at Rutgers-Newark. High School Students from all over Essex County attended the motivating and energetic event. Partnering with the organization Leading To Change, a training agency that travels the country with interactive, fast-paced, music-filled, and laughter meets skill application training presentations, the morning was filled with high energy.
The keynote speaker for the morning program was Newark-native, community leader, and 2014 City Council candidate, Rashawn Davis. He spoke about his days growing up in Georgia King Village and his experiences at Georgetown University. His message to the youth in the room – and the adults – was that the youth are the leaders, not of tomorrow, but of today. Sharing an experience he had travelling to Ireland in 2012, he made the point that America’s youth are examples to others all across the globe.
Mr. Davis told The Newark Times, “It is incredibly inspiring to see young people motivated and galvanized for change. In a city where our most crippling issues disproportionately affect young people, its important that young people are leading the way to create change.”
The program continued with engaging exercises from the team at ADAPT that encouraged the young audience to acknowledge and harness their leadership and team building skills. Beneath it all, the program was a great experience for our children and, at the very least, gave them a moment to celebrate their greatness and look forward optimistically to the future and their role in it.
