For years, Cali Walker, a 2022 Portales High School graduate, contributed hundreds of community service hours educating community members on youth tobacco prevention.
Cali Walker during her freshman year in May 2019 (Individual Photo) and senior year in May 2022 with fellow Portales High School youth advocates (Group Photo) after KCLV 99.1FM and KTQM 99.9FM radio station interviews in Clovis.
Cali Walker is one-of-a-kind. An energetic recent graduate of Portales High School, it’s quite possible you have seen her in the Portales High School band playing percussion, singing for two years in chamber choir, or in a number of roles across a variety of school theater productions including Cinderella, A Christmas Carole, and Annie Jr. Or perhaps you have seen Cali during her latter years at Portales High School as president of the school’s Student Council, the Drama Club, and National Honor Society.
Cali’s impact can be felt not just inside of, but also outside the walls of Portales High School. Cali has contributed over 225 community service hours as a youth advocate through Evolvement, New Mexico’s largest youth engagement program aiming to create positive change in New Mexico by decreasing the harmful effects of commercial tobacco and vape products.
Through Evolvement, Cali has been able to contribute a great deal to the tobacco prevention campaign No Minor Sale, a community based campaign working to end the illegal sale of and access to commercial tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to New Mexico youth. One such example has been the Portales Peanut Valley Craft & Music Festival, where in 2019 and 2021, Cali served as a staple at No Minor Sale’s booth and alongside her fellow youth advocates, spoke to hundreds of community members about the importance of their youth tobacco prevention work. Over two, two-day festival events, Cali and company collected nearly 300 campaign opinion surveys or handwritten messages of support from community members. After taking part in her first Portales Peanut Festival in 2019, Cali said:
“I believe in No Minor Sale as I want to grow up in a world where minors don’t have access to tobacco.”
Cali Walker (right) alongside a fellow Evolvement youth advocate in October, 2019 at the 46th annual Portales Peanut Valley Craft & Music Festival.
Soon after, Cali took part in Day at the Capitol, an Evolvement day of action where she met with state legislators and educated them about her tobacco prevention efforts. At the Capitol, Cali spoke at a press conference about the importance of statewide tobacco retail licensing requirements in New Mexico. Statewide tobacco retail licensing, which was under consideration during the 2020 legislative session, would require all tobacco retailers to attain a license to sell. And thanks to the advocacy efforts made by Cali and other Evolvement youth advocates, the Tobacco Products Act passed through the legislature and was signed by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on March 4th, 2020. Cali has met with twelve total legislators since 2020, including Representatives Phelps Anderson, Jack Chatfield, and Martin Zamora, all of whom partially represent Roosevelt County. She said this about her experiences:
“I strongly believe that seeing the younger generations pull together and show passion about what will affect their futures leaves a lasting impact. If the leaders of today are able to hear from the leaders of tomorrow, I believe they can work to create a better path for us to walk down.”
Cali Walker (Right) speaking about her tobacco prevention efforts, including advocating for tobacco retail licensing, during the press conference in January, 2020 at the state capitol in Santa Fe.
In unprecedented fashion, Cali also was interviewed four consecutive years while in high school with KCLV 99.1FM & KTQM 99.9FM radio stations in Clovis during the springs between 2019 and 2022. During the interviews, Cali spoke about her role as a youth advocate and her recent contributions through the No Minor Sale campaign, which include educating about New Mexico’s new tobacco retail licensing requirements and how flavored tobacco products, including mint and menthol, pose a significant danger to New Mexico youth.
Cali Walker (Center) talking during her fourth year of radio station interviews with KTQM 99.9FM with fellow Portales High School Evolvement youth advocates in May, 2022 in Clovis.
Despite a pandemic over half of her time in high school, Cali has made a lasting public health impact in New Mexico and has become one of the state’s leading youth advocates. Celebrating her past accomplishments and looking forward to all her future successes, Cali will be attending Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU) starting in the fall and intends to pursue a degree in Elementary Education to become a teacher.
*Unless clearly stated, any mention of tobacco in this press release does not refer to ceremonial or traditionaltobacco use but rather, commercial tobacco products.
About the No Minor Sale Campaign
The No Minor Sale campaign is a New Mexico Department of Health Nicotine Use Prevention and Control (NUPAC) Program initiative to educate New Mexico’s communities, parents, and retailers on evolving tobacco regulations, the impact of selling tobacco to underage youth, how to help prevent sales to minors, and to educate about the dangers of flavored tobacco products, including menthol, in New Mexico. For more information, visit:
