St. Louis Leaders Recognize High School Students As Health Advocates

ST. LOUIS - Jan. 7, 2015 - PRLog -- Distinguished Leaders from the Community Recognize High School Students for their Leadership in Teen Health Advocacy

St. Louis –Recognizing the importance of being a peer educator over 700 high school students took the initiative to speak to their peers about sexual responsibility, peer to peer violence and self-esteem in the forms of creative arts. Students participated in the Expressions Challenge, a creative program for students to educate their peers on how to make healthy choices. The program began Oct. 1 through Nov. 30 in which students submitted entries in categories of creative writing, visual arts and media arts. The Expressions Challenge motivates teens to discuss issues they see impacting their peers.

On Thursday January, 8, 2015 student finalists will be awarded cash prizes and gifts at the annual Expressions Challenge Awards Ceremony. The event will take place at the Missouri History Museum from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed along with St. Louis Aldermen Marlene Davis and Joseph Vaccaro and local leaders of the community will be in attendance to congratulate the students on their hard work and creativity.

Recognizing his leadership, influence and service to the community the Expressions Challenge will honor Martin Luther Mathews, president of the Mathews-Dickey Boys’ and Girls’ Club for being an inspirational leader in the community for more than 50 years

The finalist in the 2014 Expressions Challenge are:

Alex Panchot & Reid Doctor – Creative Writing – Metro High School (junior)
Jess L. Kagan – Creative Writing–Clayton High School (freshmen)

Ruth C. Brindel – Visual Arts – Metro High School (senior)
Lauryn E. Marshall – Visual Arts – Metro High School (junior)

Toryon Dennis, Juwuan Dennis, Taron Dennis – Media Arts – Mathews Dickey Boys’ and Girls’ Club (sophomore)
Maya Jones, Isaiah Jones, Bria Waller, Karl Palmer and Madison Rattler– Media Arts – Boys and Girls Club of Greater St. Louis (sophomore)

The keynote speaker will be teen entrepreneur Jaylen Bledsoe, CEO and founder of Jaylen D. Bledsoe Global Group a company he started in 2012. Recognizing his peers needed a voice they can relate with, he decided to partner with the Expressions Challenge to help motivate teens to make healthy choices. Bledsoe is also an expert in start-up businesses, entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Funding. He was also named as an honoree of Ebony Magazine’s 2014 Top 100 Influencers in the African American community.

“There is so much negativity going around in the St. Louis area, this is a perfect example of how the youth can turn a negative situation and transform it into something meaningful and impactful,” said Bledsoe.

About Jaylen Bledsoe
Jaylen Bledsoe, CEO and founder of Jaylen D. Bledsoe Global Group a company he started in 2012. Bledsoe is an expert in start-up businesses, entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Funding. He has an EDU Certification from Google for the Google Apps Platform and he is also a certified reseller for many Microsoft and Leveno Products. Jaylen has been recognized for his academic excellence, leadership and accomplishments winning a “Presidential Academic Excellence Award” from President Barack Obama. Jaylen has also been nominated to be a part of Ebony Magazine’s 2014 Top 100 Influencers.

About Expressions Challenge
Expressions Challenge sponsored by Walgreens is an incentive based contest for high school teens ages 14 to 18 to showcase their creative perspective on sexual responsibility and healthy lifestyle choices. The Expressions Challenge motivates teens to voice their opinion on critical life issues they face daily, including bullying, through creative writing, visual arts and media arts. The contest runs from October 1 through November 30. For more information visit expressionschallenge.com.