Three Orange County students will serve on a youth council organized by the California Friday Night Live Partnership, working to raise awareness around alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention, traffic safety, and violence issues.
Alexis Patlan, a current Chapman University student, Tammy Van, an incoming freshman at UC Riverside, and Elise Cunanan, an incoming freshman at Cypress College, will represent the county on the California Youth Council. Patlan has served on the council the two previous years, while Van also served last year. This will be Cunanan’s first year on the council.
The three Orange County students will serve with 12 other students from across the state. The group will also train adults on how to work with young people more effectively. The 12 other students come from Sacramento, Napa, Placer, Pumas, Santa Clara, Los Angeles and Mariposa counties.
“By serving on the (council), I am given the resources, knowledge, and a platform to make a change in what I believe is necessary to ensure the wellbeing of the future,” said Patlan, a graduate of Santiago High in Garden Grove Unified.
Van, a graduate of Bolsa Grande High in Garden Grove Unified, added, “I am so thankful to have been alongside so many empowering people and hope to continue my work through using my voice to spread awareness for youth issues in my community and beyond.”
The California Youth Council works together on bimonthly conference calls as they prepare trainings and events. The group comes together three times a year to deepen their skills and relationships. The next major event for the council will be hosting the Friday Night Live Youth Summit, held Sep. 16-17 in Anaheim.
Patlan, Van and Cunanan, a graduate of Cypress High, will remain active in the Orange County Friday Night Live Partnership, an OCDE program that engages young people in alcohol and other drug prevention activities on school campuses and in community-based organizations.