Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: Hello there and welcome back to another weekly episode of Just say Something's podcast.
Before we get started, remember to subscribe, like, and share.
And remember that you can find all of our podcasts available where you your favorite podcast are found, and hopefully ours are one of your favorite.
So today we have a couple of special guests, and I'm going to let them introduce themselves.
Those of you that know Just say something know that we have a very engaged group of interns, especially during the summer.
And so today we have two of our wonderful interns that we have this summer. They're our intern leadership team.
And so Jocelyn and Sebastian are both with us today. And so welcome.
[00:01:09] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:01:10] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:01:11] Speaker B: And so we'll start with Ladies first. So, Jocelyn, if you could tell our listeners a little bit about you, when you started, how you started, and where you are in your life today.
[00:01:28] Speaker C: All right. Thank you, Phil. So I started about five years ago. I started my senior year of high school. I originally started at Just say Something because I needed some volunteer hours, and I stayed because I love it so much here. And currently I'm two weeks away from starting medical school.
[00:01:45] Speaker B: Hey, that's awesome. We're so excited for you.
Okay, Sebastian, your turn.
[00:01:51] Speaker A: All right, Well, I mainly, I'll be honest, I heard about it through my cousin, and I was, I wasn't entirely in looking for an internship, but once I heard about the opportunity, I would have loved to apply because I plan on going into adolescent psychiatry. So obviously being able to go out for those summer programs and speak with kids is something, a skill that I wanted to go ahead and start, like, Internet adapting. And I thought this was a perfect opportunity.
[00:02:18] Speaker B: Okay. All right, so tell our listeners a little bit about the work that y' all are doing collectively this summer. And Sebastian, I'm going to ask you to get a little bit closer to the microphone.
[00:02:31] Speaker A: Do you want to start or you can start. Okay. Well, so right now in the summer, what we're doing is going out to different, like, summer programs and summer camps, mainly speaking to around middle school age kids about topics such as drugs like alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, nicotine, as well as bullying and teamwork.
And just making sure that they're aware of those topics. And if they're not, then teach them more about it and make sure that they know how to be safe with it.
Yeah, pretty much. That's. That's our.
[00:03:03] Speaker B: Okay. All right, so has there been something that's been surprising as you're going out doing programs with the kids that they either say something or you're like, oh, wow, I never thought about that when I was that age or something along that line.
[00:03:23] Speaker C: Yeah. As the years have gone by, I feel like it's younger and younger when the kids say, oh, I've smoked before, or my friends do it. It used to be middle schoolers, and now it's even elementary schoolers. And they're super knowledgeable.
[00:03:38] Speaker B: Right, Right. So they know a lot more than they let on that they know or that their parents think that they know. Okay. So I know you've been working on several different projects this summer. One of them that I'm excited about because it's new for Just say something is our TikTok.
So tell us a little bit about that and how people can find us.
Just say something on TikTok.
[00:04:08] Speaker A: So right now, what we're doing is we obviously wanted to do something that's, like, trendy and, like, like, just popular so that we can, like, get people to, like, look at our page. But at the same. Same time, we wanted to also still be teaching about, like, topics that we go out to our programs to teach about.
So it's not all just, like, you know, our interns faces us being, like, silly.
The TikTok is. What is it? It's just say something sc. Yeah. So there you can find us at Just say something sc. But, yeah, we do a bunch of, like, silly stuff as well as Jocelyn does the post on, like, informational stuff on the drugs we like to talk about.
[00:04:43] Speaker B: Okay.
Since you're talking to middle school and now that with TikTok, we'll be reaching a larger audience, hopefully.
So the message has to change a little bit.
So what's the message? Because I know y' all have done one on tobacco or vaping, and so what's that message look like? And how do you think it's best for those of you at your age of trying to get high school kids or maybe other college kids to think twice about picking up the vape?
[00:05:23] Speaker C: I think the main message is education, and I know this nonprofit. It's super focused on education and prevention. And a lot of times the kids just aren't educated on any of these topics. So the main focus of our TikTok is, while being fun, it's just teaching them things they've never thought of before. And especially for the older kids, it's always best to encourage them to. You know, everyone has a phone. They have access to the Internet to just Google it or just continue educating themselves. And I think that's the best way we can help others.
[00:05:54] Speaker B: Okay. All right, so how many camps have y' all done this summer?
[00:06:01] Speaker A: What Mountain Pleasant, Pleasant Valley, dealt with this one Free Town.
[00:06:08] Speaker C: We've done about. We've completed seven.
[00:06:11] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:06:11] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:06:11] Speaker B: Okay. And so what that. So what does that look like to our listeners that may not know? If you say you completed seven.
[00:06:18] Speaker C: We've completed. So it's seven programs. Each of them are a week long. We usually show up every single day. So Monday through Thursday, sometimes Friday.
The presentations are about an hour to an hour and a half long.
And we go through the topics that Sebastian listed earlier. And so we've completed seven programs, which means we've gone to seven different schools or community centers and talked to kids of different ages.
[00:06:42] Speaker B: Okay. All right, so we've got a big project coming up this summer, and so tell our listeners a little bit about what that is and what we're hoping to do with that.
[00:06:59] Speaker A: I mean, I believe you're talking about the Youth Summit.
[00:07:01] Speaker B: I am.
[00:07:03] Speaker A: So the Youth Summit, essentially, we wanted a lot of children to join us for the Youth Summit. And what we're doing is it's kind of a lot of other focused stuff. We have a lot of other organizations that are going to be joining us, speaking about these topics, like drugs, like, kind of a little bit of what we're doing over here during the summer.
And we wanted a lot of people to sign up so that we could, you know, like, get like a very big, like, group of people to be affected and to learn about, like, what we do, what our other organizations, our partners that we do as well, and just topics such as, you know, once again, those. The alcohol, drugs, bullying, and stuff like that. So it's really just like reaching out.
[00:07:43] Speaker B: Okay. And how can those that are listening find out about the Youth Summit?
[00:07:49] Speaker C: I believe we have a website, right?
[00:07:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
Take it back. Youth Summit.
[00:07:55] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:07:56] Speaker B: Yep. Okay, so take it back. Youth summit.com so you can do that.
[00:08:01] Speaker C: And then there's also a TikTok. There's a ticket back. TikTok. And so you can also find us there. And then if not on the Just say something, our website. I'm pretty sure we have a link to connect you to that. So if you are interested, you can.
[00:08:16] Speaker B: Also come to our website and on our social media. So on Facebook and Instagram, we also have. You can find it there.
So as you look at the. It's hard to believe. That feels like we just started summer and now summer is almost over with. It's not calendar, not the heat, but as far as the school schedules and whatnot. And then you're leaving soon to go to medical school.
So what is something that has, I guess, mainly for you, Jocelyn, and maybe Sebastian, but what is something that you've learned at your time here? Just say something that you can carry with you as you go off to medical school. But even beyond that, I think the.
[00:09:09] Speaker C: Most important thing is learning to understand the backgrounds of everyone you're talking to and to connect with people. Because besides just say something also in medical school and any other career you can think of, you have to be able to understand the people you're talking to, be on the same page. And that's why I love just say something so much. I've been able to connect with not only my co workers and not only you, but all of the kids. They all have different stories, different backgrounds, all from different ages.
[00:09:38] Speaker A: And.
[00:09:38] Speaker C: And that's the most important thing, important lesson I've learned is to be able to connect and understand one another, because that's what builds strong communities.
[00:09:46] Speaker B: All right, good job, Sebastian.
[00:09:48] Speaker A: For me, I would just.
I think, obviously what Justin said as well, but I think just seeing, like, being able to talk with children and learn because it's not as easy as. I mean, it's easy because children are very, like, casual and, like, talkative, but also, like, leaving, like, a lasting, like, impact on them on, like, how you talk about the topics of, like, drugs and alcohol.
A lot of them, they. They know about it, they've heard about it, but they don't realize, like, what it can really do for you or to them and to the people around them. And I think being able to, like, leave that, learning how to, like, leave that lasting impact, whether it's unfortunately talking about very serious consequences such as, like, death or passing out, going to jail, anything like that, leaving those lasting consequences is, I think, very important from what I've learned how to do, as well as just being able to make those connections with them. I mean, kids are funny, they're very casual, they're very.
For me, you know, when I plan on going to my adolescent psychiatry career, I think being able to talk with kids, learn how, you know, they're all different, they're all unique, and they all have as well as Justin said, they're different backgrounds. And really being able to understand their backgrounds and understand their understandings of different things is, I think, gonna go a long way, and it's a very lasting impact on myself.
[00:11:09] Speaker B: Okay, all right, cool. Well, I know I always, like, I enjoy summertime because we always have a lot of young interns here in the office. And it helps keep us going.
And we couldn't do what we do without y'.
[00:11:26] Speaker C: All.
[00:11:26] Speaker B: So for that, thank you. Is there one last thing that you would like our listeners to know either about what you're doing here at Just say something or maybe the next steps in your life?
[00:11:42] Speaker A: I would say, in general, just educate yourself. Because even us being in college, I think there's a lot that we've learned about the different drugs around us, you know, how common they are, like, even with the opioid crisis, like, that's something that I didn't even learn much about until, like, two years ago.
And I think educating yourself and learning about substances that are, like, around you and that are, like, real, and as much as you might want to act like they're not real, just, I mean, they're there. So learning about that, learning what it does to people around you, learning what it does to you, if you are interested in it, I think that's. That's very important.
And of course, just say something is here to help with that. So you can always reach out to us, reach out and find out about our programs or even any other organizations, because there are lots out there.
[00:12:32] Speaker B: Okay. All right, Jocelyn, any closing comments? Thoughts?
[00:12:37] Speaker C: Thank you for whoever's listening. And also Just say something is such a great organization. I've been here, I've said five years, and I've tried to be here as long as I can because I love the people here. I love the work that we do, and, you know, it's just so amazing. So thank you, Phil.
[00:12:53] Speaker B: Well, you know, I've been fortunate to see you from high school. Now you just graduated from four years, and now you're going off to medical school. So we're all proud of you here and look forward to wonderful things for both of you as you continue through your paths of life. I know Sebastian will be back with us, us next summer.
I don't know when we'll see Jocelyn again, but we'll be looking out for you and we'll be watching.
So I want to thank you both for being with us today. And again, this is Phil Clark with Just say Something Again.
Be sure to subscribe, like and share our podcasts, and especially this one. It's so important that we engage with our young people and. And that we provide them the opportunities to make a difference.
And so I'm grateful for these two and all of our interns that we have this summer, and just know that we always have different opportunities throughout the school year for interns as well. So with that. If you need to find out more, just go to. Just say something sc.org and go to Impact and then look at the intern tab.
So again, thank you for listening and we will see you again next week.
