Alexis is a high school senior in Newtown, PA, who began swimming competitively at the age of 8 and found that her passion was being in the water. She’s now a lifeguard and swim instructor. She’s also been a Girl Scout since the first grade.
As a senior Girl Scout, she set her sights on earning the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award achievable. Girl Scouts who earn the Gold Award tackle issues that are important to them and create meaningful change in their communities.
Alexis was concerned about the addiction epidemic in our country, and she felt strongly that the education she received in school didn’t help the problem.
She remembers another drug prevention program coming to her school and says, “I found it hard to grasp the concept when listening to someone constantly tell me not to do drugs rather than providing me with support and a positive message.”
She was introduced to the Natural High program in her Health class during her sophomore year and was inspired by the Storytellers, especially Bethany Hamilton who was one of her role models growing up and had always been a source of inspiration for her. The positive message resonated with her unlike any other prevention program she’d experienced.
When tasked with creating a project for her Gold Award, she knew Natural High was the answer. Natural High’s Storytellers deliver content that is real and relatable. The message is positive and helps students build the skills it takes to avoid drug and alcohol use and to live life well.
It was important to her to introduce Natural High to a younger audience, so she created an addiction education program and shared it with over 100 kids in elementary schools and scout troops.
Taking inspiration from the curriculum, she created an addiction education lesson titled the “Passion Lesson” that stands for Purpose, Activity, Support, Satisfying, Involved, Ongoing, Natural High.
During the meetings with younger scouts, she helped them brainstorm their interests and hobbies, and she also educated them about the benefits of finding a ‘natural high’.
She didn’t stop there, she developed a Natural High patch lesson for scout leaders in her service unit, and it’s available on her service unit website for leaders to share with their troops. She then partnered with us to design a patch for scouts to earn once they complete the lesson plan.
Scout leaders can share this lesson with their troop to earn the Natural High patch.
Here is her lesson plan that you can use or adapt.
The scout patch is available in our store for purchase.
Alexis says she learned so much during the process of creating her Gold Award and sharing the lesson with younger kids. This process helped her realize how impactful swimming had been in her life, and how focusing on this passion supported her making healthy choices during her high school years.
She also witnessed the Natural High program in action and its focus on inspiring young people to find healthy outlets to help them say no to drugs and alcohol and yes to life.
During the programs that she taught to scouts, she witnessed how excited they were to share their natural highs and believes this experience will have a positive impact on their future choices. We are so inspired by Alexis, and we hope you are too!
Natural High’s curriculum is easy-to-use and adaptable to meet a variety of needs, from brief 10-15-minute discussions to project based work that takes place across multiple days or class periods.
If you have an example of how you’re using it with your students, schools, youth organizations, or community, we’d love to hear about it! Share it with us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, or email us at info@naturalhigh.org.
More Case Studies:
Student-Led Clubs: Conestoga High School
Community Coalitions of Idaho
Organization In Action: YMCA PRYDE
Schools In Action: Steele Canyon High School