CADCA is proud to spotlight nine youth leaders selected for its Voices of Youth program, a SAMHSA-funded initiative run by CADCA in partnership with the HOSA Future Health Professionals. These students received scholarships to attend CADCA’s 35el Annual National Leadership Forum in February, where they presented their community assessments and participated in youth-focused prevention trainings. They also received scholarships to attend CADCA’s 2025 Mid-Year Training Institute, July 20-24, in Nashville, TN, where they’ll present their completed projects.
Voices of Youth is a seven-month program that invites HOSA members from across the country to lead community-level initiatives in substance use and mental health prevention. CADCA provides participants with training opportunities and technical assistance to assist youth leaders in learning and applying the Strategic Prevention Framework. Within the framework, students learn to identify and frame complex public health issues in their communities, develop innovative solutions, and participate in the design and implementation of intervention activities.
The HOSA members selected to participate in Voices of Youth are:
- Sarah Olsen, Arizona
- Annie Gao, California
- Gabriel Gavrilescu, Florida
- Devarsh Shah, Illinois
- Miracle Poche, Louisiana
- Dhan Khadka, Ohio
- Shloka Kari, Pennsylvania
- Arianna Anahi Villa-Huizar, Texas
- Aidan Hayes, Washington
Project Spotlight: Shloka Kari
One of this year’s participants is a senior at a high school in the suburbs of Pennsylvania. Her journey into public health began during her freshman year when she joined HOSA Future Health Professionals to explore a possible career in healthcare. Over the years, she served as a state officer, organized statewide conferences, and volunteered at local hospitals and blood drives. With CADCA’s Voices of Youth Program, she had the chance to address an issue she had long noticed in her own community: youth e-cigarette use.
Shloka said that she frequently noticed students being suspended or even expelled because of vaping. Walking into her school bathrooms, she would be welcomed with a cloud of smoke, and she didn’t feel enough was being done to take action. She began analyzing local data and discovered that e-cigarette use was higher in her district than in the rest of the city and county. With support from her district supervisor, school principal, and a dedicated school counselor, she launched a two-part initiative.
The first part focused on prevention by creating a mindfulness corner at school to help students manage stress, one of the underlying reasons that many were turning to nicotine. Thanks to guidance from a school counselor and support from the Phillip Diaz Bright Star Foundation, she was able to bring this idea to life.
After attending Forum and connecting with experts in youth tobacco prevention, she focused the second part of her project on policy change. She began working with school leadership to revise disciplinary responses to vaping incidents, by advocating for educational alternatives instead of automatic suspensions or expulsions.
It took around three months of meeting with administrators, counselors, and the principal to effect change. She shared the data she had compiled, highlighted approaches that other districts were using, and made the case for change. They’re now piloting a new program to see how it impacts student behavior and outcomes over time.
Through Voices of Youth, students like Shloka are gaining hands-on experience in public health and prevention, while also bringing about needed change in their communities. Join us on Monday, July 21 at 10:30 AM at CADCA’s Mid-Year Training Institute to hear from this year’s cohort as they share the projects they’ve spent the last several months bringing to life.
