Northern Lights Advisory Board

The Northern Lights Advisory Board (NLAB) is a collection of young people who have gone through an application process and have been elected by his or her peers to serve as the youth voice for Northern Lights Youth Services and Northern Lights SADD. The NLAB are lead by one student who is selected by the Northern Lights Youth Services Staff and Board, known as the Student of the Year. The key responsibilities of the NLAB are planning the Northern Lights Conference, assisting in creation of NL SADD programming and serving as ambassadors for the organization, just to name a few!

The 2017-2018 NLAB were asked the following questions:

  1. Why did you join SADD?
  2. What motivated you to increase your level of leadership and run for NLAB?

Student of the Year

  1.  I believed in everything SADD stood for and wanted to join my friends in advocating what SADD means.

  2. I wanted to share SADD's message with everyone

1.  I was motivated to join SADD by the fact that I could inspire others and help them through their personal struggles. Also, the idea of being part of something larger than myself motivated me as well.

2. A previous officer brought up the idea of NLAB to me. At first, I did not think I would be good at it, but after consideration I thought I would give it a try. The fact that I could have such a big impact on so many people's lives amazed me! I felt like I could do so much by just being relatable and there to talk to other students. Now that I am on NLAB, I am so glad I did! NLAB has done nothing but positive things for me.

1.  I joined SADD my freshman year of high school because I wanted to make friends with people who had similar beliefs about living a substance free life.

2. I really enjoyed being in SADD and after attending two Northern Lights Conferences, I was inspired by the great leadership of the NLAB for putting on such an uplifting and motivating conference. That made me want to be part of a group that played a key role in helping me to become the person I am today.

1. I joined SADD to spread awareness about mental illness and to become a better leader.

2. I was motivated to run for NLAB so that I could become a role model to someone else who is struggling and to become a better leader!

1.  A member of SADD, whom I already good friends with, told me about the organization last year. This year, I decided that I'd get a SADD chapter started at my school and from there on I've just really enjoyed it!

2. I decided that I'd take a shot at NLAB! I wanted to be more active in SADD since my school and community just started as a chapter. I figured I would learn more about the organization too and meeting new people is always fun!

1. I wanted to join SADD so I could become part of a community of like-minded teens who also wanted to be involved in making good decisions.

2. I have always loved leadership, and the NLAB seemed like the perfect opportunity to further develop my leadership skills.

1. My personal experiences have lead me to be drug free and when I found SADD, I thought it was a perfect fit for me.

2. I decided to apply for the NLAB after I had gone to the last two conferences and have seen so many areas of SADD. After having multiple conversations with Lee, I decided to apply.

1.  I decided to participate in SADD when a friend's older brother came up to me and told me he was signing up. After I found out what it was, I knew it was a group I wanted to be in.

2. Last year, at my first Northern Lights Conference, I saw how much fun the NLAB members were having and I knew I wanted to be a member.

1. I decided to join SADD because I am very religious and many of the beliefs of SADD coincide with my church's. It was refreshing to find a group of people who believed the same things as me. I also joined because it was a unique way to meet new friends and not have to worry if they were going to try and pressure me to do the wrong things.

2. I wanted to increase my leadership abilities and get more active in SADD. I also wanted to show my younger friends that NLAB is something they should consider too.

1.  I joined SADD so I could be in a safe place where I could be myself and stand up for what I believe in. I wanted to show others that I am proud of my beliefs and that there are other ways to have fun! Plus, I wanted to help others who have gone through the same experiences I have and help them know they are not alone. 

2. SADD represents everything I believe in and so much more. I wanted the opportunity to help and encourage kids by speaking out about my experiences and issues. That way, other kids can know they are not alone, just how SADD and the previous NLABers taught me that.

1. Well, at first I joined SADD because my friends were joining and I wanted to be part of a fun group. Then, I realized that SADD was a great organization that I wanted to continue to take part in.

2. I was motivated to run for NLAB because I was inspired by the NLAB last year and wanted to be part of that. This is also a way to advocate for SADD and spend time with students who share my values.

1. I joined SADD because my friends did and I wanted to join with them. Turns out, I love it and I really enjoy helping others.

2. I decided to run for NLAB because I thought it would be a way to help out my community more and still have a lot of fun.