Jump to full article: Northwest Arkansas Times, 2009-05-01
Author: TRACIE DUNGAN
Intro: Youngsters run the risk of being considered uncool when trying to convince their peers it's a bad idea to smoke or chew tobacco, but two University of Arkansas freshmen shrugged that off.
In their earlier teen years, Lizette Castillo of Fordyce and Shawn Burns of Texarkana became volunteer anti-tobacco advocates.
Both are 19-year-old minority-group members who grew up in different parts of south Arkansas. Coincidentally, both trained, through separate programs, on the best methods to sway other youth.
The two reflected on their paths Thursday, in-between peer advocacy sessions they taught for seventh- and eighthgraders at The Jones Center for Families in Springdale.
"I don't like to follow the crowd," said the Mexican-born Castillo, who since third grade has spoken English with a Southern twang just like most any other Arkansas-raised girl.
"I was the only Hispanic, for one thing," said Castillo, who graduated as valedictorian of her class from Fordyce High School.
She doesn't think she could have scored the academic accomplishment if she'd followed the popular, partying crowd that favored smoking and drinking, she said.
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