Since 2004, VFHY’s youth engagement program, Y Street, has trained more than 9,000 youth to make their schools and communities healthier. Each year, a dedicated group of these youth called “Y-Sters” is selected to become members of the Y Street Leadership Team (YSLT).

Shawna Alston, a senior at Granby High School in Norfolk, exemplifies Y Street’s mission to create a healthier Virginia through their continued commitment and effervescent energy toward the program and campaigns’ advocacy efforts.

When Shawna joined Y Street, she mobilized her school community around increased water access and promotion in Virginia schools through their work on Rev Your Bev. She led her fellow Y-Sters at Granby High School in hosting school-wide events to survey students and staff water consumption and get their school community pumped about drinking water.  In addition, she helped the campaign reach thousands of youth, parents, and schools in-person and online with fun messages about the importance of choosing water for healthy hydration for the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth’s annual Rev Your Bev Day.

“I look forward to Rev Your Bev Day every year.  It gives me and the other Y-Sters at my school a chance to champion hydration among students, staff, and faculty,” says Shawna.

Shawna also was invited to present at The Virginia School Board Association (VSBA) Conference on the Rev Your Bev campaign that garnered local media attention from Charlottesville City’s NBC29 and CBS19: CBS19 Article and NBC29 News. It was from her incredible presentation, that she was also offered the opportunity to participate in the VSBA’s School Board News Podcast.

Y Street has brought opportunities like these that continue to push her to be an agent of change in her school and community.

“Y Street gives us the platform and opportunities to make a difference, become more aware of issues we have the power to change, and better ourselves and our communities.”

Where Shawna is Now

This excerpt was originally published in VFHY’s 2020 Annual Report to spotlight Shawna Alston’s incredible work with Y Street.

Since graduating high school, Shawna has now a Junior at the College of William & Mary studying English & Africana Studies. Shawna plans to pursue either a JD or PhD after graduation or out of curiosity, a combination of both. Shawna is currently working with the Black Academic Development Lab (BADLab) at Stanford University researching Abolitionist Education.

“Y Street was my first introduction to merging policy, passion, and advocacy. Y Street created in me a community-driven, people-centered praxis that directly affected the research I chose to invest in.”