Tiger Smart promotes awareness about unhealthy teenage habits, student to student.
“You don’t need substances to have fun in your life. And it [Tiger Smart] promotes that, which I really like, because some people, not just teenagers, but people in their lives are like ‘I’m gonna get drunk. That’s the only way I have fun.’ Tiger Smart shows you that that’s not true, that you can have fun no matter what, and make a difference,” senior and Tiger Smart President Emma Mosakowski said.
Many Tiger Smart students admire Mosakowski in her new role.
“I think that she is a really good president and is going to run a great club,” senior Keira Rausch said.
Mosakowski’s perspective has changed because of her involvement in Tiger Smart, especially through the leadership conferences.
“It’s opened my eyes to a lot more problems in the world that we live in, because before I joined leadership conferences, I was so naive. I was very naive in the way I thought about drugs and alcohol. I thought of it as one way, but there’s so many different ways it can affect you, not just making you feel a certain way. It can affect you long term. Leadership conferences have helped me learn about that, so I don’t make mistakes like that, and I can tell people about it,” Mosakowski said.
Members of Tiger Smart hope to educate the community on the effects of illegal activities.
“Its important because drugs and alcohol can lead to deaths and for teenagers, especially, drinking and driving. That is a killer, and advocating for [against] it, talking about it is the biggest way to stop it,” Mosakowski said .
Tiger Smart aims to provide alternatives for people who are interested in drug and alcohol use.
“It spreads good messages. Last year around prom, it had, ‘No Driving Under the Influence’ and those types of signs. But they also do different things for the community, like the freeze out every year, where they get a lot of donations of clothes and things like that,” Rausch said.
In addition to encouraging students to refrain from drugs and alcohol, Tiger Smart gives back to the community.
“We’ve done things where we’ve gotten old clothes together, we’ve gotten toiletries and given them to people in need. We also did the care carts in the bathrooms with the period products and the deodorant. So while those things don’t have much to do with drugs and alcohol, it still affected the community, because we also stand for helping out the community,” junior Parker Barnard said.
Tiger Smart makes sure that LSHS stays involved in programs that help their cause for a healthy student body.
“We’re doing it [making a difference] by helping with Red Ribbon Week, the stay sober campaign, and be kind week. It’s promoting goodness in a world of bad, and advocating for keeping your body healthy, and not doing bad things,” Mosakowski said.
Every winter, Tiger Smart has the Freeze-Out, where they continue to give back.
“Our big event for the year, we have our freeze out. It’s where we are outside for two hours in the cold, and we collect donations for people escorting it. Afterwards, we come inside, we eat pizza, and we play games. It’s a lot of fun,” senior Allie Gordon said.
The club has also made a personal impact for an involved student.
“Tiger Smart personally has made me realize that I don’t have to succumb to peer pressure from others,” Gordon said.
One thing Tiger Smart aims to do is create an environment where students can belong.
“I think it’s important to keep up Tiger Smart because in high school, there are a lot of outside eyes and pressure from people, like your peers. I want people to know there’s a safe space they can come to where there is no pressure,” Gordon said.
Between encouraging students to refrain from using unsafe or illegal substances, and helping those in the community who are in need, Tiger Smart continues their legacy of being drug free.
