VABC Names Interns for Youth Alcohol and Drug Prevention Project

Four young adults will serve as interns at Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority’s (VABC) 42nd annual Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Project (YADAPP).

Jaila Hendricks (Brunswick High School/Virginia Commonwealth University), Justin Jackson (Brunswick High School/Virginia State University), Minuette Goin (Charlottesville High School/Mary Baldwin University) and Jay Ingram (Woodside High School/VCU) will assist in guiding others through the year-long program.

“(YADAPP) has changed my life in many ways,” Hendricks says. “I was very shy growing up and not very outgoing. Ever since I attended YADAPP in 2019, all that has changed. I have been more outgoing and seeking out community-based programs to use my YADAPP skills and knowledge to help my peers, as well as future generations.”

Jackson attended YADAPP for seven years and completed a degree in education. His tenure with YADAPP and his subsequent studies give him a unique perspective as an intern with the program, according to the VABC.

“My favorite thing about YADAPP is how people break out of their shells toward the end of the week,” he says. “It really has taught me how to be comfortable in any setting.”

This year’s program begins with a kickoff conference July 13-17, 2026, at Christopher Newport University in Newport News. Participation requires the registration of a team of four high school student participants and one adult sponsor. During the conference, students attend workshops facilitated by peer leaders, hear from motivational speakers, learn peer leadership and prevention best practices and develop a Strategies To Act Now (STAN) Plan to address substance use among their peers.

Teams compete for $250 mini-grants to use as seed money for their STAN Plan and the $500 Wheeler Award to sustain their continued prevention efforts.

Goin says that YADAPP has changed her life in “huge ways.”

“I am way more comfortable being a leader and a public speaker,” she says. “I’m not afraid to respectfully speak my mind, navigate several teams within one big team and embrace public speaking and conflict resolution. I have learned so much over my years at YADAPP both professionally and personally.”

Ingram, who will be in familiar ground at CNU as he’s from Newport News, says his favorite thing about YADAPP is the spirit everyone embodies and how strangers quickly become family.

“Coming back year after year, I have some of the same people around me who have helped me grow but we also have new people to bring into this YADAPP family,” he says. “YADAPP is a place where high schoolers can come and meet people from around the state that have common interests and a common passion for combating substance abuse. We try really hard to have that team spirit, to learn about each other and to create those bonds within the teams.”

YADAPP early enrollment opens April 1, 2026, with a discounted enrollment rate of $500 per team until April 30. The price then increases to $600 per team until the June 1 enrollment deadline. The fee includes conference materials, as well as year-long coaching and support for adult sponsors as they aid their teams in implementing their STAN Plans throughout the school year.

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