Twelve students from Tyrone Area School district attended the 12th annual Teen Power Day at the Penn State Altoona campus. Students from Altoona, Bellwood, and Williamsburg High School also took part in the event.

Teen Power Day is a series of workshops held annually to encourage and empower teens to make healthy choices and avoid risky behavior.

The workshops included an opening session that involved a fun, interactive question and answer sessions during which the audience used clickers to answer questions  projected on a screen.

“This field trip gave participates great insights to solutions to social challenges that all teens face,” said TASD Counselor Molly Stroup.

Workshops were held focusing on healthy relationships, drugs and alcohol, nicotine, choices and consequences, and 40 developmental assets that look at external and internal resources available to teens to help influence the best possible choices as they grow and mature.

Most students were very impressed by Todd D. Negola, a clinical forensic psychologist who worked with the National Gang Crime Research Center for over ten years.

“I thought he was fantastic,” said Tyrone freshman Makayla McCloskey, “[Mr. Negola’s] presentation and speech not only inspired me but he inspired others as well.”

Negola focused on how the choices and consequences that people make can affect them for the rest of their lives.

“His lecture was extremely inspiring,” said Tyrone student Jada Turiano, “he was wise and really spoke with passion.”

Many of the students who saw him speak recommended that he be brought in to speak to the ninth grade seminars to encourage, motivate and inform our student population.

The TAHS students who attended “Teen Power Day” were Naomi Welch, Laura Gunter, Natashia Zimmerman, Jada Turiano, Umeeka Marlett, Makayla McCloskey, Naomi Stonebraker, Rayne Burger, Faythe Lewis, Hailey Weyer, Cheyanne Price, and Jaci Buck.