Contributed by: Shelby Ray
As Miss Grand Canyon, a contestant for the Miss Arizona competition, volunteer with local nonprofits and a senior at Arizona State University, Hannah Morgan is using her active voice in the community to promote a drug-free Arizona. Her platform Reach For Your Dreams Not Drugs, for Miss Arizona, was inspired by the tragic death of her brother when he was killed by a drug dealer.
“As a teen, I had a lot of support from my parents, since we obviously feel very strongly about living a drug-free lifestyle especially after my brother died when he was only 21,” said Morgan. “I’ve made it my goal to make sure that other people, especially kids, also have a good support system for reaching their dreams.”
For nearly six years, Morgan has been volunteering and participating in speaking engagements through local schools and organizations such as DrugFreeAZKids.org, a prevention program of Southwest Behavioral & Health Services, Boys & Girls Clubs and Not My Kid. Her three-tiered approach includes educating, engaging and empowering to connect effectively with kids, teens and young adults.
“I created the three-tiered approach because I wanted to take these messages of living a healthy, drug-free lifestyle a step further in ways that would mean something to them,” said Morgan. “I’ve noticed that it’s most effective to get my messages heard through engaging presentations and dialogues.”
As a senior at Arizona State University studying early childhood education and special education, she understands spreading the message of the dangers of drugs and alcohol need to include an engaging component. Rather than standing in front of teens and rattling off statistics and facts, she’s having open conversations with kids, teens and young adults.
“It’s important to understand brain development because there’s a difference in what kids are going to understand and what they are going to relate to,” said Morgan. “For the younger kids and teens, I like to have one-on-one conversations to find out what their goals are and help them figure out how to reach those goals with the key takeaway being to live a drug-free life.”
Morgan says more awareness needs to be raised at the college level on the dangers and consequences of drinking and taking drugs, especially ‘study drugs’ such as prescription stimulants.
“Even if the medication is prescribed, it’s still going to have an effect on their body,” said Morgan. “For teens taking medication that isn’t prescribed to them, there’s even more of a danger because they don’t know exactly what will happen.”
This is why she’s teamed up with DrugFreeAZKids.org, a prevention program of Southwest Behavioral & Health Services for its free, monthly webinar on May 11. As the leading source of information about prevention, youth substance abuse, providing families with valuable tools to raise healthy, drug-free kids, the organization will be looking at how kids are using prescription stimulants as a study aid.
The webinar will also inform parents why kids continue to seek out prescription medicine rather than a healthy alternative. According to DrugFreeAZKids.org, prescription drug abuse among teens is an epidemic in Arizona with one in five high school seniors abusing prescription medication.
Morgan says there are many healthier alternatives to prescription stimulants such as yoga, meditation and exercise. She hopes that high school teens and college students will turn to those healthier alternatives rather than study drugs.
“Ultimately, I want to help people reach their goals by living a healthy lifestyle. This is why the first word you see in my platform is ‘dreams’ over drugs,” said Morgan. “My goal is to win Miss Arizona, so I can continue sharing this important message throughout the state. My dreams are possible because I stay drug-free, and I hope to encourage others to have that same mindset.”
For more information on the upcoming webinar, visit DrugFreeAZKids.org/Webinars.
