Oct. 26, 2026 by Juliana Barrett (‘30)
On October 20, 2026, a group of student leaders from Saratoga County Schools came together in downtown Saratoga Springs to learn about how to create campaigns to help young people make better substance related decisions.
Students arrived at the Saratoga Arts Center and were greeted warmly by members of the Prevention Council, an organization dedicated to stopping drug and alcohol abuse in Saratoga County. Erin Webster, the Director of the Prevention Council, detailed her main goals for the day. “The main goal is to change the way that youth look at certain substances,” said Webster. Additionally, the Prevention Council wanted to make more resources available and easy to access.
The students attending this conference had their own goals as well. A Saratoga Springs High School Junior, Xiuyi Hu, who is also a member of the Student Restorative Justice Unit, had some ideas. “I got an opportunity to come here to learn more about how to be better at restorative practices,” said Hu, who thought this was a great way to learn more methods for reaching out to students who need it.
People from many different schools and programs participated, including:
- Stillwater High School
- Schuylerville High School
- Mechanicville High School
- Corinth High School
- Galway High School
- New Visions Program
- Burnt Hills/Ballston Lake High School
- Saratoga Springs High School
Student groups from each high school were split up and sat with students from different programs, which helped them practice reaching out to people they didn’t know and build their teamwork skills.
Once all students were seated and settled, many people from the Prevention Council spoke. One of these people was Sharon Borgos Trzaskos, the CEO of Borgos Marketing. As one of her main points, she discussed how to effectively create campaigns and posters to encourage smart decisions. She put a large emphasis on knowing your audience. “Who is the audience? How are we going to impact them?” Borgos said, highlighting how knowing who you intend to reach and how is extremely important.
She also spoke on connecting with that audience, “People love sharing content that says something about themselves,” says Borgos. Incorporating people’s personal interests, as well as the general interests of the demographic, is very important in catching their eye and hopefully making an impression on them. Borgos then encouraged students to consider what approaches to campaigning might work best for their school.
There were also a few speakers who gave firsthand accounts of how they turned away from drug use. One of these people was Taylir Funk, who is now working with the Prevention Council in schools and doing one on one work with students. She detailed her journey from using drugs and gave the students an inspirational story of how she eventually worked past drug use.
Erin Webster, the Prevention Council Director, then gave some more input on campaigning. Webster said, “When we use words to label others, it creates something called stigma.” Webster warned participants to stay mindful and use words appropriately.
Students were then given the opportunity to collaborate on posters and campaigns with their table groups. Using the information provided throughout the day, they created slogans and posters incorporating non-stigmatizing data and vernacular.
Students were then dismissed with encouragement to go out and start putting campaigns like these into motion in their schools. Many students left inspired and ready to start their own poster campaigns in their schools.
If you or someone you know is seeking help for drug and alcohol abuse, turn to the Stop DWI App on phones, available for Apple and Android. The App explains blood alcohol content levels and DWI laws. Additionally, the Prevention Council has a young adult resource group to get help. Reach out to Taylir Funk at taylir@preventioncouncil.org with any questions regarding the group.