Akon is blasting on the radio as I cruise down the highway after another successful Cross-Country meet. Ahead of me, County police surround what appears to be a white Sedan that was rear-ended by an SUV. The Sedan was totaled and needed to be towed. I saw a white sheet over a body that was tossed out of a car. It was horrifying. I drove past and couldn't help but think: “What if that was one of my friends or family members?” Later that night, I overheard my parents watching a news report about that exact car crash. An older gentleman was under the influence and speeding on the wrong side of the road. This sparked my determination to prevent this from ever becoming a reality. 

Two weeks later, nine friends and I sat around a conference table, half-listening to another adult pitch to us about a summer program our parents wanted us to attend.

“Did I mention that you will be staying in a hotel for 4 days?" She said unexpectedly. This caught our attention. An all-expenses-paid hotel trip sounded amazing. Little did we know that this experience would spark an effort to solve an overlooked issue, and I could finally act on my goal.

The following summer, we attended Traction. Traction was more than a summer camp or summer program. It was an experience that immerses you with people who are passionate about saving lives while educating you on the effects of reckless driving. The main focus was impaired driving. People need to understand that it’s not just drugs and alcohol that make you impaired, but it's also drowsiness and not being attentive. After attending the week-long conference, we knew we needed to educate our families and friends back home. 

Youth is a team of gifted immigrant youth who aim to promote road safety in our community. What began as a fun trip turned into a mission to save the lives of people we care about. We organize creative activities for children and parents, such as bringing in impaired goggles and performing real-life enactments of people being distracted while texting and driving. Our activities are meant to teach lessons on how you feel when impaired. To show them why they shouldn’t drink and drive afterwards. When they text a friend, they put themselves and the drivers around them in danger. 

My favorite part about Traction has been working with the children. I plan activities and use them to teach lessons about having control when driving. I enjoy it a lot because the kids go home with a lesson and a fun experience. Any educational program like ours is important because it educates others and shows them an experience that they can share with others. The good message spreads fast, saving and protecting many people. 

Some older adults in our community, however, struggle with understanding English. To reach these people, we recorded and produced a video where students gave road safety PSAs in multiple languages. We said phrases like: “Call an Uber if you drink” or “Pull over and rest if you’re tired” in Swahili, Kikuyu, French, and Lingala. This helped us reach a group of people who are otherwise neglected and show them that driving impaired is driving recklessly.

Upon hearing about our good work, our mayor invited us on his weekly podcast. It was an honor to speak on such a big platform. I went on to discuss how texting and driving is the most dangerous thing you can do. That one minute spent looking down can cause you to lose control and hit something. You must always wear a seatbelt because if someone is not wearing a seatbelt, they can become a "missile" and fatally hit others in the car. He expressed his support for our program and agreed to put us in contact with local law enforcement, which would help us spread more awareness.

While honored with accolades, such as the MoDOT ShowMe-Zero Award for our work to protect our community, the growth in my leadership has been most significant. Planning these events gets difficult when we all want something done a certain way. Through trial and error, we learned the importance of delegation, so tasks were completed efficiently, and everyone contributed.

The Traction family is a great reflection of my identity. Whether it’s someone who has watched my video in Swahili or my interview with the mayor, the impact of our work is evident. We were protecting our community by having them spread the word. What began as a hotel trip quickly became a community that is protecting its city with small but powerful actions.