It all started back when I was still in 6th grade. Team members Gregory and Patrick had just moved into the Middle school, where they got with Mrs. Eyre to start a Fuel Up to Play 60 program, and when I moved up to Middle School I joined. When I came up, my Program Advisor wanted me to go to the Student Ambassador Summit, so I applied and was chosen as Wyoming State Ambassador! In the High school I’m now going to, the program is not very big and needs a lot of help. There is no clear Program Advisor. Personally, I have been part of the program at least 3 years now. It has made a huge impact in my life by changing the way I eat, which changes the way I act and feel.
Fuel Up to Play 60 has been in my old school for four years and its impact was enormous. We did Plays that changed physical activity and Plays that changed the breakfast menu. We changed physical activity by putting on a big dodgeball tournament which made kids like activity more. It opened up their minds to see that physical activity isn’t just running, or football and basketball, but it can be fun. The breakfast menu, too, was a complete success. We took the Western Dairy Association’s recipes and took them to our food nutrition staff and school board. After the ok, we got together with our culinary teacher and discussed using her kitchen to cook the foods. After cooking the foods that night, we had a taste test in the morning where the staff came in and tried it. Later that week we got feedback that 3 out of 5 recipes made the menu.
I have made some pretty big changes with my diet too. Every day I eat a fruit, like an apple, for snack. I started this because ever since I had joined Fuel Up to Play 60 when I saw that I was eating so unhealthy. The program changed my ways by teaching me that eating healthy wasn’t only going to affect my weight but also my mood. It has made a large impact with my school and friends too. They have changed by not snacking on junk food, but drinking smoothies instead. Now I’m seeing that we are all a bit happier every day. I have been eating fruits instead of chips for snack, and I have been playing less video games. When I got involved I saw that others were coming and saying they ate a healthy breakfast like oatmeal. I was coming and saying I ate doughnuts for breakfast. I saw change in my mood and change in my focus at school. The program has been good to me and I think it will carry on for a long time.
The program has so many parts to it and it seems like it grows every year. The part I like the most though, is the fact it gets kids excited. But you can’t forget about the cool prizes. The prizes come from completing Plays with great success, winning drawings, and even competitions at the Summit. If you reach a certain amount of Points, your name may be entered in a drawing and you could win a brand new Xbox 360, like me! Another thing I love about the program is the Student Ambassador Summit. It’s an event where all of the chosen kids go and learn new skills.
Being an Ambassador lets kids go in to their profile on the Fuel Up to Play 60 website and apply to go to the Summit. The program lets the kids lead the team with supervision of a Program Advisor. As I was saying, the Summit is a learning opportunity that I got to take twice. I had so much fun at the Summit, so much I had a hard time choosing a favorite part, but I did. My favorite part was when you got to choose which class you wanted to go to. It was where you got to go around and choose different speeches you wanted to listen to. It was a good opportunity to learn new things. I also made some plans at the Summit for this upcoming year. I figured that I should start a mountain biking club.
In conclusion, the program has impacted not only me, but my school too. And for some advice, follow your dreams of making your community a better place with more activity and better eating habits. Make a change. Don’t let anybody tell you what you’re doing is wrong and do not let people try to stop your pursuit in changing the world. Doing that will not only make you successful in the program, but also in life by teaching valuable life lessons. Thank you.
Brad
Summit Ambassador
Wyoming
9th Grade
Read Brad’s previous blogs about his breakfast success, why he thinks you should care about school wellness and hear about his experience at a Broncos game.
Great post Brad! Nice meeting you at the Summit!