On Monday October 7, Mentor brought students from Phelps High School to attend the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Red Ribbon Rally at their Arlington, Virginia Headquarters. Red Ribbon Week is dedicated to fallen DEA agent, Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena who was killed by drug traffickers in Guadalajara, Mexico. The first National Red Ribbon Week, coordinated by the National Family Partnership, took place in 1988 in Agent Camarena’s honor.
Special guests at this event included The First Lady, Melania Trump, who gave a speech on her ‘Be Best’ campaign, an initiative advocating against teen cyber-bullying and drug use and actor Dean Norris, who played Special Agent Hank Schrader on the AMC Series ‘Breaking Bad.’
I will continue to address addiction as long as it affects our children, our youth, and our schools. We need to continue encouraging teenagers and young adults that have fallen into drug addiction to be brave enough to admit it, to talk about it, and to get help.
Melania Trump, First Lady of the United States of America
Mikyah Jackson, a Youth Ambassador in Mentor’s ‘Living the Example’ program, delivered a powerful spoken word on the impact of drug misuse in her community. The ceremony concluded with a Red Ribbon Pledge, delivered by Acting DEA Administrator Uttam Dhillon, for the attending High School students to live their lives drug free.
Spoken word performance by Living the Example’s Youth Ambassador Mikyah Jackson.
First Lady Melania Trump signing the Red Ribbon Pledge.
Student participants pledging to stay drug-free.
Acting DEA Administrator Uttam Dhillon and Director of Program Development at Mentor USA Karl Colder.
From Left: Michaela Pratt (President & CEO, Mentor Foundation USA), Uttam Dhillon (Acting Administrator, DEA) and Alexandra Mottern (Program Manager, Mentor Foundation USA).
Acting DEA Administrator Uttam Dhillon and Living the Example’s Youth Ambassador Mikyah Jackson.