YOUTH SPOTLIGHT: SCOPE ambassador Ulibarri

At just ten years old, Avynlee Ulibarri serves as the dynamic youth ambassador for Socorro County Options Prevention and Education (SCOPE). With her spirited enthusiasm and passion for making a difference, she embodies the voice of her generation, advocating for positive change in her community.

“My favorite part is that I’ve known the staff for a pretty long time, so they’re like family to me, and then I really like the youth group because a lot of my friends go, so I get to hang out with my friends,” Ulibarri said.

The youth group Thrive365 meets on Thursdays after school and is open to kids from third through 12th grade.

The group engages in various activities, such as playing games, watching movies, and creating a “Dude Be Nice” program to recognize kind individuals in the community.

“It’s where we gather up, and we find people in our community, and I would pick someone to do a ‘Dude be nice’ for. So it’s basically to give them a reward for being kind. So we’ll, like, surprise them at their work. We’ll surprise them, and they don’t know that it’s coming,” Ulibarri said.

She said the last person they surprised was Coach Stephanie, who is a dance teacher in the community.

“She was really excited,” Ulibarri said.

Last week, they made stickers for their new campaign called Kindness Attack.

“So the best part about our stickers is they have a little quote at the bottom, and they’re really cute,” Ulibarri said.

One benefit of being a youth advocate is that Ulibarri attended the Mental Health America Conference in Washington, DC.

“It was really fun. I met some new people,” Ulibarri said, “And I tried oysters for the first time. I got a bunch of goodies from there. So that was really nice.”

She said the best part was experiencing something new in a big city.

“It was ginormous compared to our little town; it’s like a thousand of our little towns combined,” Ulibarri said.

Ulibarri is proud to be a youth ambassador and encourages other kids to join.

“Thrive has helped me get more friends and really helped me be more happy. Thrive is a really welcoming group,” Ulibarri said.

Her message to the community is that she wants people to understand that children are just as strong as adults.

For more information on SCOPE and its youth programs, follow their social media pages or visit their website at: scopehealthcouncil.com