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Boardman High School students say "yes" to positive choices
BOARDMAN
July 25. Sept. 30. Oct. 5.
Those dates readily pop into Boardman High School Principal Cynthia Fernback’s mind when asked about the school’s annual “Yes Fest,” the third iteration of which took place Friday.
Those are the dates in 2013 on which former Boardman students died in drug-related circumstances.
Yes Fest “is a direct response to 2013,” she said. “We started looking around and doing some soul-searching. ... Yes Fest was born in those moments of tragedy.”
Yes Fest partly focuses on the traditional “Just Say No” message regarding drug use, but adds another message: Say “yes” to positive choices.
“We obviously want our kids to ‘just say no,’ but the Yes Fest is designed to direct them to positive things that create a lasting high that drugs could never provide,” Fernback said.
To accomplish that two-fold goal, high-school and eighth-grade students heard from Judge John M. Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court about some of the individuals he has encountered in his line of work who had potential but squandered it; and from Youngstown State University Jim Tressel, who outlined how students can say “yes” to everything life has to offer.
High-school students also had the chance to sign up to volunteer at some of the 50 area organizations represented at the event.
“Some young people had scholarships that they lost, some ended up in jail or prison, and recently, of course, some young people have died,” Judge Durkin said. The case that hit closest to home for him, he said, was the Sept. 30, 2013, death of 18-year-old Erin Trell, who lived on the same street as the judge.
Trell was a “beautiful, talented young girl who died far too young,” he said.
Tressel offered students some words of wisdom so that they might avoid a similar path.
“When you talk about this word ‘yes,’ it’s an affirmation, a proclamation, that, ‘Yes, I’m going to reach my potential,’” Tressel said.
To achieve that, he said, follow these guidelines: Don’t go it alone. Get involved. Be grateful, and be focused and disciplined.
He stressed the importance of having friends who aren’t afraid to tell you the truth – “Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future” – and of getting involved in extracurricular activities – “You’re going to have the opportunity to be in a zillion different things – do it.”
Elohor Ojose and Dorcas Gitimu, both 10th-grade students, already knew that message, but said Yes Fest helped reinforce it.
“We learned that even though saying no to drugs is a thing, you also have to say yes and put yourself out there,” Elohor said.
Matthew Moradian, a 10th-grade student who donned a “Yes Fest” T-shirt for the day, spoke brightly about the direction of his school.
“I think this is a really good way of saying no to drugs and saying yes to opportunities,” he said.