The 2018 Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador Summit. No one can stop talking about. All of the attendees truly had an amazing time and learned so much to bring back to their schools. I would like to share what the 4 long days looked like, and why we had such a good time.
Day 1: After a drive to the airport, a 2-hour flight, a tram ride, and finally a bus ride to Agnes Scott College, I had arrived! Stepping off of that bus was like stepping out of a space shuttle on the moon. I gathered my luggage and got tons of high fives and hugs from the Youth Council, and took my place in the extravagant line to get my picture taken and my room key. Then I greeted another Youth Council member and walked from Inman Hall where check-in was to Winship Hall where my dorm was. I was greeted by more Youth Council members, checked in at my dorm, and made my way up to my room. I threw my stuff down and ran back down three flights of stairs to the rec room. After hanging out for a while, getting a campus tour, and eating lunch, it was time to meet my team! We introduced ourselves, played some icebreakers and then went to Evans Hall for opening ceremony. The Fuel Up to Play 60 team opened up the Summit with Orientation. After that, we worked on our chant and our team flag with our team, and then our first speaker, Sheri Collins from The Shark Group spoke about how she worked her way up the fashion food chain and taught us to represent ourselves in a professional manner on social media. She taught us how to be, “our best self”. After dinner, a couple more speakers, and a group Summit photo, and the infamous Summit Kickoff. There was a rock climbing wall, an inflatable obstacle course, human hamster ball races, and tons more! After our couple hours of fun, we went to have team time, which is where we met with our team and talked about our day, and what tomorrow would look like. We were then dismissed to our dorms and got ready for bed, preparing for another very fun, amazing, long day.
Day 2: The alarm on my roommate and I’s phone, the getting dressed and ready, and the knock on the door of our dorm room meant the day had officially started. We met up with our team and then went to do morning physical activity rotations. We did tons of stuff from pool noodle wars to dancing. We then ate breakfast and had two amazing speakers come and talk to us; Mayor Pattie Garrett welcoming us to Decatur (where the Summit took place) and Katie Brown from the National Dairy Council talking to us about “Hungry for Change”. After this was time for our first (and one of the Summit’s first) Student Ambassador team rotations. Twice a day (on Tuesday and Wednesday) we met in big groups and went around to different stations. Our first station was the Social Media Lounge/AgVenture, where we learned how to use social media to promote the program and we learned a lot about farms and what it’s like to be on a farm. After that, we had a morning snack break and Agriculture Career Exploration Rotations, where we met with different people to talk to us about different types of agricultural jobs. For lunch we got to eat with a dairy farmer and ask them questions about what it’s like on the farm and such. While we were finishing up, Youth Council leaders Brody and Miranda led a panel discussion with several dairy farmers about nourishing communities, including Jason Brown, who left the NFL to pursue a job on the farm! We now worked with our teams to make interactive billboards to show others about all the agricultural jobs there are in modern day agriculture. People from the Ink Factory helped us with these. They made even larger billboards about the Summit in general and they were INCREDIBLE! We finished off the afternoon with the competition sessions; the Youth Talks and the Fuel Up! Innovation Challenge. In the Fuel Up! Innovation Challenge students had the chance to come up with an idea for their Fuel Up to Play 60 program and win $1,000 to put their idea into place. In the Youth Talks, students came up with speeches about Fueling Greatness and some of those students presented their speech in front of the whole room for a chance to win $500 cash for their schools and a $500 prize pack to bring back as well. After that, before our farm to table dinner, Alexis Glick, CEO of GENYOUth, talked about leading the way and using social media in a positive way. It was a very powerful speech! After dinner, we had a physical activity break and then our second rotation of the day. Our group had a discussion with President and CEO of CustomED, Rusty McCarty, about the future of Fuel Up to Play 60. We finished the day off with a Team Challenge Activity, where we designed an interactive diorama about FUTP 60, and team time. The Ambassadors then returned to their rooms and got a good night sleep for the next long day.
Day 3: Waking up at 6:00 A.M. started off most of the Ambassadors’ days. We met with our teams and headed over to the Woodruff Quad to play FLAG Football. That was followed up by an excellent breakfast and a Keynote Session from Dr. David Satcher, the 16th United States Surgeon General. My rotation group then went to the auditorium for Communications Training. We learned how to handle and interview and how to communicate with others about the program. We returned to Evans Hall for a morning snack and then began the infamous Student Ambassador Conference Rotations! Ambassadors picked 3 different conferences to go to every half hour and learned more about the conference’s designated topic. I learned about how to develop brand identity, how to use Ergotron Standing Desks in the classroom, and how to use brain breaks during the school day to keep kids active. Next, we enjoyed a nice lunch with our dairy council representatives at the Summit and the other students from our region. It was a great opportunity to discuss plans for the coming year with our dairy council staff and other students. We then were bussed to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the brand new home of the Atlanta Falcons. It’s also the home of Super Bowl 53! The tour was absolutely incredible! I gave huge kudos to all the tour guides, they did a great job! The dome was huge! We got to play on the field and enjoy the time seeing the ins and outs of Mercedes-Benz Stadium. To continue on our football themed day, we went to the Georgia World Congress Center to celebrate Fuel Up to Play 60’s partnership with the NFL. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Alexis Glick, and a few NFL players joined us in a panel discussion as well. And on our way back, well, we caught up on sleep on the bus. When we got back to Agnes Scott, we ate dinner and then our last rotation session, which was the flatbread cook off. We competed against other teams to make the best flatbread. Afterwards, we had a late night snack and then went right into the Team Talent Night, which was like a big, fun, talent show. We then met with our teams and went back to our rooms to sleep in preparation for the last day at the Fuel Up to Play 60 Summit.
Day 4: Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey. The final day was now underway. For our wakey-wakey, we went to a “Rise-and-Shine Obstacle Course”. And all the courses were made by the Program Advisor teams. And no one knew that the maintenance staff had planned a little surprise for us, and turned on all the sprinklers by the obstacle course! It was just superb. Eggs and bakey should be quite self-explanatory; we went to Evans Hall and enjoyed a family breakfast, where we met with our friends family who were at the Summit and ate breakfast together. Next, we attended a Fueling Greatness Panel, with Olympic Medalist Aja Evans and Graham Gano, who plays in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers. To close out the Summit, we packed a snack for the trip home, took a big milk toast picture with everyone at the Summit, and participated in the Youth Council Lockdown. No one knows what goes on in there besides the students, and no one ever will. We had a closing celebration and lunch, and then a closing keynote from National Dairy Council President Jean Ragalie-Carr. Finally, it was time to say goodbye to our new friends and the Summit, and head out back to our school to share with them all the things we learned and all the things we’ve done. The Student Ambassador Summit is for any student in grades 6-12 that want to make a difference in their school. You can find out more about the Summit at FuelUpToPlay60.com or by following #FUTP60Summit if you’re on social media!
Indiana
Student Ambassador
Massachusetts
8th Grade