The FFC8 Youth Advisory Council (YAC) began during the 2024–25 school year as a student-led group in Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8. Made up of students in grades 6–12 and supported by adult facilitators, YAC empowers students to use their voices, experiences, and creativity to educate their peers and community. Youth members hold the primary voice and leadership, working alongside adults as equal partners.
YAC focuses on vaping prevention and promoting healthy, informed choices. YAC is supported through funding from the Colorado Attorney General’s JUUL settlement, with the majority of funds invested directly into student-led initiatives.
YAC is comprised of various teams that focus on key areas, including survey/research, education, social media/website, community involvement/outreach, and conference planning.
Our students lead initiatives such as:
Create posters, apparel, PSA videos, and social media content
Hosting informational events for parents and the community
Train staff to recognize signs of vaping
Present to students at all primary and secondary schools about vaping prevention
During committee meetings, members collaborate on group projects, develop leadership and marketing skills through partnerships with local businesses like Neon Pig and Fort Carson R2 Performance Center, participate in team-building activities, and practice talking with peers about vaping in a non-judgmental, supportive way.
Four student leaders and five adults traveled to Baltimore, Maryland, to attend the Joint Meeting on Youth Prevention and Recovery, a national conference focused on empowering youth voices to address addiction. Our students were the only high school youth in attendance.
The Youth Leadership team presented to the school board, Colorado Department of Education, and other public health groups
YAC members presented to students during Red Ribbon Week
This year, YAC will be holding its first-ever Youth Voice Summit Conference. Youth and adults will come together to unite through leadership, amplify youth voices, and collaborate to tackle youth-related issues in your community.
Location:
Fountain-Fort Carson High School
900 Jimmy Camp Road, Fountain, Co 80817
Date:
April 24, 2026
Time:
9 a.m. -2:30 p.m. There is no school that day.
Rashad Wisdom, safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is a natural leader shaped by adversity, resilience, and vision. He believes real leadership means embracing discomfort, trusting your instincts, and standing firm even when it’s unpopular. Through personal loss and setbacks, he adopted the mindset that everything happens for you, not to you. Rashad values growth through experience, earning respect through trust, and committing to continual evolution even when it’s uncomfortable.
Conference Pathways:
Youth Voice
This pathway is going to be led by both youth and adults, with an emphasis on how youth can build confidence and develop a voice, as well as how adults can support this process. This will be a call to action for young people to gain the skills to make true change in their communities and their lives. It will also provide tools for working with youth and how to step down in a way that allows them to truly take charge of their own impact on the community. Presentations will cover personal experiences from current youth members of the council, panels led by mentors, and workshops for confidence-building and finding leadership styles. Presentations will also address personal experiences from the facilitators and other adult members and youth panels.
Creating the YAC
This pathway will cover the technicalities of developing a youth advisory council, addressing what worked well for us, and what did not work so great. This will help guide attendees in their own process of creating their own youth advisory council. Presentations will cover the background of the council, the elements that contribute to our council, and the steps taken to get to where we are now.
Substance Use
This pathway will cover the district and council’s specific approaches to vaping, as that is the focus of our council. We try to avoid suspension and expulsion, but rather provide resources to the students struggling with vaping. It will also cover other local and district approaches to substance use. Presentations will cover the initiatives throughout the district directed at substance use prevention, tailored information for students, school staff, and parents surrounding the topic, and the importance of education in addressing substance use.
