Page 33 - Iris Tennessee Teen Judges Book 2022

What can you do during your Tenure of Service as a Titleholder to impact your community? Providing an opportunity for volunteerism is the impact I will achieve. I co- founded Volunteer for Lakeland in my community and have been able to introduce and guide over 50 teens to learn the value of serving in my small town. I have partnered with my local Parks and Recreation Division as well as local businesses to help coordinate and staff volunteers for community events. I would use this experience to achieve my goals. I want others to feel they are never too young or too old to lend a hand in their community and to foster a spirit of volunteerism, which is what our state is known for.
What has been your involvement with your platform? As a teenager, I know technology is one of the greatest obstacles my generation is facing. I have turned my passion for living an active lifestyle into my program, Technology Timeout. I encourage everyone to take a technology timeout by putting down their technology and being active for at least 60 minutes a day. Through speaking at events, national television content, and social media, I have been able to motivate others to be active and to be aware of their daily technology habits. I have also created a series of YouTube videos promoting Technology Timeouts that I use to reintroduce the theories of physical play to children. For the last 5 years I have been equipping my peers with the tools to be healthy, productive, and responsible with their time on technology and social media.
What inspired you to first become involved in your platform? I wrote a research paper to pinpoint health obstacles my generation is facing. I realized that our computer learning classroom, while efficient, was reducing the amount of activity we had daily. My class was seeing increased stress, fidgeting, and behavioral issues and the quality of our learning environment was being affected. I knew then that I wanted to encourage others to unplug and be active daily to reduce stress in our bodies. Being active reduces heart issues and obesity that arise from inactivity. Our mental health improves when we take a break from social media and learn to be our best selves and not compare ourselves to others. I now encourage everyone to consider their physical and mental health and be mindful of healthy habits when using social media and technology.
If you are selected as the winner, how would you mobilize and market your platform nationally? I create teen relatable content on a national platform through Roku and Amazon Fire TV and bring awareness to the effect social media has on our mental and physical health. As the next Miss Iris Tennessee Teen Volunteer, I would work to create partnerships with national organizations, such as the NFL and NBA who already have teen-based programs. These partnerships would allow me to bring more awareness to the importance of activity, overall health, and responsible social media usage. I would use Technology Timeout Tuesdays as a weekly reminder, host timeout challenges and use social media to remind others that being active is so important. Social media cannot make us be active each day, but it is an effective tool I use to remind others to take a break from technology and social media.
How would you utilize social media in order to positively further your position as a titleholder if you are selected as the winner? I would continue to use social media to post about my personal platform as well as the benefits and values of the Volunteer Organization. Being an active titleholder is important to me. Highlighting appearances, announcements, and furthering the mission of the program via social media would be my priority. Having been involved with this organization since I was 4 years old, it would be my honor to continue to share S.E.R.V.E. and the concepts of the Tennessee Volunteer Organization. It is my opportunity to highlight the benefits of the Volunteer family, encourage others to be their best selves, bring others into the organization, and encourage volunteerism. By using social media intentionally, I will be able to make an impact by strengthening the work done before me and leave this job stronger for the next titleholder.