Bryan High tobacco prevention group earns top spot at state conference

The Eagle

Bryan High School’s Vikings Kicking Out Tobacco organization was recently named the top youth tobacco prevention group in the state.

The honor came at last week’s annual Texas Say What! conference in Austin, and marks the third time the group, known as VKOT, has received the top spot. The students earned the distinction in 2018 and 2019 — when they also earned a national first-place win — and hoped to have a three-peat before the COVID-19 pandemic put things on pause.

The club presents events and runs campaigns about the dangers of tobacco use, smoking and vaping, and advocates for policy change that will lead to a safer environment.

The club’s sponsor Patricia Bailey-Jones, better known to her students as “Mrs. PBJ,” said the recognition is what they were striving for when they started this year.

The students felt like they were starting the club anew because only one active member of the group — outgoing president Walker Satterfield — had experience prior to joining the student-run club this year, Bailey-Jones said. Satterfield graduated from Bryan High in May and will attend Texas State University in the fall. He also will continue his work with Texas Say What!, which is based out of Texas State.

The club accomplished its goal of earning the top spot in the state and completing the most projects in a year with 16 members, compared to its pre-pandemic numbers of about 40.

“We accomplished everything with this small amount of people, and I’m just so proud of what we’ve done,” Satterfield said. “So it means so much to come back with this award to be No. 1 in the state of Texas yet again.”

The eight VKOT representatives who traveled to the conference took part in presentations. Gracie Mireles, who will be a senior at Bryan High, said she was proud that nearly all of their sessions were at maximum capacity. It meant a lot, she said, that people chose their educational sessions over others that were more fun, activity-based sessions.

Mireles joined the group this year and said she expected it to just be a fun student club, but found it to be much more.

Many of the students who traveled to Austin said the benefits went beyond educating peers and community members about the dangers of tobacco use and vaping. They said they saw real changes in themselves. Some, such as Satterfield and Adrienne-Elisabeth Keim, said they now have the confidence to speak in front of a crowd of students and adults. Others said it gave them a group of friends and a place to belong within Bryan High School.

“Before joining, I was kind of in a rough spot, and I was like, ‘I need a change.’ Joining this, it really just, like, brought out the best,” said Lacey Garcia, who will be a junior. “I found people I really connected with. I was so excited to get involved. It made me feel great about myself, that I was helping others, and I was being a part of something bigger.”

Gabriela Garcia called VKOT her family, saying she hopes to continue in the club into her sophomore year and beyond. She moved to the school from one where she said she did not feel like she had a real high school experience, but she found a place to belong in the club.

When it comes to earning the top spot, Bailey-Jones said she did not expect anything less, pointing out the students’ hard work, competitive nature and effort they put into the club and into each project.

“It’s just a great joy to know that you played a small part in it, because I was not the one doing the sessions,” she said. “I was not the one up there speaking for four hours, group after group. It wasn’t me; it was them, and they put in the work to do it. I just love to keep pushing them. The sky’s the limit. This is just the beginning, just the beginning. We will read about them years later and look at the great things they have done.”