Sara                George              Abigail             Michelle           Natalie

The Coalition's Youth Action Board has had a wonderful group of student leaders who are graduating this year.  We wish each of them every success as they look towards the future!  Here's a quote from each about their accomplishments and/or future plans:

Sara Dzierbicki (Seaholm) - "I have had a team of amazing youth and adult leaders surrounding me in every milestone of my Coalition career.  I would say that attending CADCA, interviewing Dr. Drew, facilitating Covey Training and winning numerous awards are some of my favorite accomplishments.   I think that watching the YAB grow, developing relationships with some of the greatest leaders I will ever know, developing new initiatives, preventing my friends from drinking and educating our youth are some of my best accomplishments!  My involvement in the Coalition for the past four years has given me a sense of appreciation for the positive things in our community.  So often do we focus on the negative aspects of life.  By learning, through the Coalition, to center my attention toward good things and look at everything in a positive light...I have changed as a person.  When I came into the Coalition, one of the first concepts that I learned was social norms and the idea of everything having a flip side.  From this, I learned that it is up to you as to how you look at things and, in reality, you can change the mentality of hundreds of teenagers by simply thinking in a different light.  This mentality is something I will always apply to my everyday life.  Sure, you can always choose to focus on the positive...but when you see results that show change in the perception of your peers because of YOUR positive attitude, now that's something you'll always remember  -  and that is what the Coalition has given me...a lot to remember!

George Post (Cranbrook) - George will be attending University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA where he plans to study Environmental Policy and swim on the swim team.  He swam at Cranbrook and was named to the All-Area and All-Oakland County swim teams and his 200 medley relay team received All-American honors.  George is passionate about environmental concerns and helped start an environmental club at Cranbrook.  He enjoyed working as part of the YAB for all of his high school years and meeting kids from all of the area schools.

Abigail Wagner (Lahser) - Abigail has played viola and piano for many years.  She was Lahser Symphony Orchestra viola section leader and orchestra manager and part of Michigan All-State Orchestra.  Abigail was President of Bibliophiles of the Round Table (book club) and a National Merit Scholar.  She was also a member of the National Honor Society.  Very involved in community service, Abigail tutored in math, science and music.   "My involvement in the Coalition has taught me that the best efforts for prevention and other types of social action are positive and fun.  Being part of the YAB for a year has left me with a renewed confidence in the ability of young people like myself to make changes in the community."

Michelle Bartoshuk (DCDS) - "As I move into my college years it will be weird to have nothing to do from 3:15-5 on Sundays.  In other words, I am not sure what I will do without the YAB!  As cliche' as it sounds, the Coalition has impacted my life so much.  I have grown as a leader, learned so much about our community and prevention, and worked with so many people from all different sectors of the community.  The Coalition has given me the opportunity to participate in CADCA, and I know I will continue to support the Coalition and work for CADCA over the next four years.  Thank you to Kelly, Vickie, Lori, Carol and the Board members and ALL of the YAB students.  My accomplishments with the YAB, the community and CADCA could not have been done without you!"   Michelle will be attending Denison University in the fall, majoring in Education, minoring in Art or Spanish.

Natalie Stern (Seaholm) - "After being involved in the Coalition for the past four years, I've gained a true understanding of the importance of a teen voice in the community.  The Coalition has given me the opportunity to help bring positive change to Birmingham Bloomfield and beyond.  As I enter the next phase of my life, I will take with me all that the Coalition has taught me and the memories of the fun events we planned."