Ali Post (left) and Ellie Foos (right) visit following Monday’s noon speech to the Hutchinson Rotary Club held at Hutchinson Community College CREDIT RICHARD SHANK
By Richard Shank
Ali Post and Ellie Foos, two volunteers for the Rise Up Reno organization, addressed the Hutchinson Rotary Club at a Monday noon meeting to report on a recent Washington, D.C. trip to network with other participants from similar organizations nationwide.
Post, a senior at Buhler High School, and Foos, a senior at Hutchinson High School, spoke of their passion for an organization established to promote healthy youth behaviors in Reno County through mentoring, substance use prevention, suicide prevention, strengthening families, and youth leadership.
The two students’ four-day trip to the nation’s capital was eye-opening. During Advocacy Day, they visited the U.S. Capitol and rubbed shoulders with Kansas’ congressional delegation, including the staff of Senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran. Among the sessions they attended were discussions on Artificial Intelligence (AI), its negative impacts on misinformation, manipulation, and addictions, and the potential harm of AI Chatbots.
In a session entitled Building Partnerships for Substance Misuse, the topics included youth-led prevention and why it works, peer influence versus adult influence, misconceptions, and youth and community partnerships.
In a session entitled Future Plans, a Call to Action included a Mental Health Walk, More school speakers, additional education on AI and social media, and prevention and the availability of Nalazone in schools.
Post said she enjoyed visiting with other students from throughout the nation, which also provided an opportunity to witness the fast pace of life in the nation’s capital and, at times, was a culture shock. Foos said the experience was
especially good in learning about the lives of students in other communities from across the nation.
Rise Reno’s website includes a section categorized as “Our Why” and states the following: “Drugs and alcohol are putting our community and our people at great risk—especially our youth. We are the driver of change on this issue. We prevent substance abuse by rallying our community to build caring relationships, give knowledge, and develop wealthy environments.”
Seven Reno County schools participate in Rise Up Reno.
The origin of Rise Up Reno is a story worth repeating. In 2003, Hutchinson was chosen by the University of Washington to participate in a youth development study. As a result of that study, a community coalition was formed in Hutchinson and remains to this day.
Following graduation, Foos will continue her education majoring in Political Science at the University of Kansas in advance of pursuing a law degree, also from KU. Post will continue her schooling as an early Education Major at the Hutchinson Community College and following her graduation, will complete her bachelor’s degree at Emporia State University. Both students plan to continue involvement with Rise Up Reno type organizations.
