The room was packed and energy buzzed in the air. I couldn’t help but smile as students and parents hovered around our food safety stations. Some were scanning nutrition labels, and others were laughing as they guessed how much sugar was in a soda, or how much fat was in a potato chip, or how many calories were in a candy bar. It felt amazing to see everything come together, but behind the scenes was tons of hard work.
Our event was focused on teen food safety, with the goal of helping people make healthier choices, like eating less sugar and fat. Coming up with interactive activities that were fun, yet educational, wasn’t easy. We scrapped many ideas that were either too simple, too boring or too complicated. We searched hard to find educational talks and educational flyers that used patient-centered language and would hold the interest of our targeted audience. At times, I wondered if I had the fortitude to overcome all the obstacles and accomplish our goals.
At the end of the event, people told us they felt more confident reading labels and choosing healthier foods and snacks. One parent said their daughter would drink less boba (bubble tea) given the amount of sugar in it. Hearing this feedback made me realize that all the late nights and stressful moments were worth it in creating a healthier community.
Looking back, this experience taught me that grit is about pushing through challenges to find creative ways to make things work. I’m proud of what my team accomplished. I learned the power of resilience that will carry me forward to continue creating change and helping others make healthier decisions.
Hanwen (Nancy) Luo
Shanghai, China
1 thought on “Delicious and Durable”
This sounds like an important and really high yield event! Kudos to you and your team for sticking with the planning!