Operation Snowball is an international drug-use prevention program that focuses on empowering today’s youth to live a drug-free life. It is founded on the basis that one positive impact on one person can in turn produce greater positive results from a community.

“It is essentially the snowball effect with love and positivity, where you start with one person, or a tiny snowball, and it rolls downhill creating a huge snow ball of positive results,” says Annie Ngo (‘15).

Counselor Angelica Cordova is the sponsor of the club and the even “is such a grand program that it is truly hard to explain what exactly it is.”

She said the main goal is to enable people to make a positive change in themselves or help others achieve that change. “It is something you have to experience to know what exactly it is,” Cordova said.

There are three schools participating from this area: Conant, Schaumburg, and Hoffman Estates.

“The whole time, we are trying to prepare new members for the grand end-of-the-year event on April 18. And every year, we rotate the school at which the event takes place, so every time, it is a brand new experience” says Brianna Salgado (‘15).

Every year, the event is totally different, but it generally includes many fundraisers, game/movie nights, motivational speakers, and even basketball games between schools. It is on April 18, and runs from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m.

“It’s kind of like freshmen kick-off, but there is just so much more to it. It does require a $25 dollar fee to enter, but it is a breathtaking experience and the only event I have looked forward to every year,” said Ngo.

“So far, our main goal is to get as many people involved as possible. And there are no limitations as to how many can join, because the more people there are, the more fun it is,” said Salgado.

“It truly ends up being a life-lasting experience because people end up learning a lot about themselves that they previously didn’t know. We develop leadership skills and learn a lot,” added Ngo. “It’s not just a social function to promote Snowball, but it’s also a place where you can feel like you belong. There is just so much diversity there that no one feels let out.”