ThinkFast: Interactive competition brings energy, engagement to distracted driving awareness at Gilford High

GILFORD — Trivia. Dance battles. Debates. Gift cards.

It wasn’t just any ole’ assembly Wednesday at Gilford High School.

Gone are the days of monotonous motivational speakers pushing tone-deaf messages to students in a library-quiet room. Instead, Gilford high students participated in a game show hosted by ThinkFast Interactive, in an effort to reduce teen fatalities due to distracted driving statewide.

“I think if, you know, one student left here making better decisions as a driver, it's, you know, a massive success,” said Anthony Sperazzo, principal at Gilford High School.

The innovative program replaces traditional scare tactics with an environment that fosters active — and organic — participation and fun. Through competitions, questions, and humor, the hosts reinforce crucial safety statistics and driver education concepts.

From multiple-choice questions to queries sometimes prompted by a clue from a music video, topics ranged from pop culture (think Bruno Mars) to grammar (parts of a sentence) to science (physics, yikes). Sprinkled throughout those questions were more pointed questions quizzing students on distracted driving statistics and laws learned in driver’s education. It also covered ebike safety, due to a spike in popularity in recent years.

Students were divided into teams and provided a remote with which to answer questions.

The event was a hit.

The room was a roar, from students laughing and cheering on classmates to meaningful participation in front of peers, set against the backdrop of popular music. Bright, colorful lights lit up the stage. Presenters Sam Heldt and Dylan Roll, with ThinkFast Interactive, were quippy and funny, creating a balance between humor and serious topics.

“This is kind of an approach we're trying to make that is digestible, fun, relaxed and open to information,” said Heather Mills, youth operator program coordinator for the Injury Prevention Center at Dartmouth Health’s office of Community Health, who helped spearhead the event.

We “just try to bridge that gap between driver's ed, teachers, teens, and parents, and just make a program that is effective. The impact that is making on what students receive in terms of information, what they knew before and what they know now, there's an increased understanding of the knowledge that they were previously made aware of to now.”

The assembly was made possible through Mills’ New Hampshire Teen Driver program at the Injury Prevention Center at Dartmouth Health. The program is grant-funded.

According to the program’s website, “there is collaboration with the New Hampshire’s Office of Highway Safety, Dartmouth Health Children’s, and New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services Injury Prevention Program and many other partners to address leading traffic safety and other injury issues based on statewide, regional, and national data.”

Mills works each school year to design and develop teen highway safety programming for Granite State middle and high schools. She teamed up with ThinkFast to offer a cutting-edge educational opportunity for school districts.

Vehicle stop time during inclement weather, drowsy driving, Jessica’s Law, and seatbelt safety were all driving aspects highlighted during the presentation.

Leadership at GHS jumped at the chance to offer this to students. Administration and staff at the event were all smiles, watching students absorb the information, seemingly pleased with its effect.

Throughout the gameshow, there were also challenges for students, including a dance competition and a 20-second debate. The dance-off was a riot, with everyone in the auditorium erupting in laughter. Short public service announcement videos related to driver safety were woven in between questions, the room quieting as students paid attention.

“I got to go up for the dance competition, which is a little scary, because it's in front of the whole school. But they gave us a song, and we got 30 seconds, and then they ended up giving us an extra 30 seconds. It was fun and competitive,” said Anya Bourgeois, a GHS 12th grader. “I think it was a good way to learn about things while also having fun.”

A more somber portion of the event, though, was the debate.

Student representatives Bella Bryant and Kainan Sanville were given a prompt, “Don’t Let Emotions Take The Wheel,” and each encouraged to spend 20 seconds providing an argument as to why someone shouldn’t drive after receiving devastating news.

“I understand that you do need to get home. I offer you that I drive you instead, because you're not in the correct headspace. And although I understand you're on that mission, it's not safe,” said Bryant, who went first. “It's really important that we showcase good character and safe driving skills, ‘cause that's who you ought to represent in this world.”

Sanville took a similar, yet different, approach.

“l’ll have my mom come pick you up. You can go on a little side quest. We can maybe hit up KFC,” he said, the audience chuckling.

After 1.5 hours of the game show competition, Team Owls came out on top. Whoops and hollers erupted around the room as the students — Adam Hough, Jaxen Lien, Declan Hackett, Jacob Baldi, and Jonathan Langley — made their way to the stage to collect their prizes.

The assembly left an impression on students as they went back to class.

“Because all of us are already on the roads, it was a good remembrance of going over these things, and it's nice and helpful,” Stella Pickowicz, a 12th grader, said. “To hear the percentages ... they were out of control.”

Since students got wind of the assembly topic prior to the event, many expected it to be boring.

“We all had the idea that it wasn't going to be the most enjoyable ... somebody just talking. But it ended up being very interactive and fun,” Bryant said.

The experiential awareness offered was a hit, and for presenters Heldt and Roll, it was another successful day at work.

“I think the positive sort of feeling they get from getting things right helps them sort of remember the information," Heldt said after the assembly. "Like ‘negligent driving.’ In high school, I did not know what that word meant, but I got them to remember it right up here when they answered it.

“So, I think, sort of getting kids into a space where they can just feel relaxed, and like they're actively having fun.”

For more information, visit nhteendrivers.com.

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Katlyn Proctor can be reached at katlyn@laconiadailysun.com or by calling 603-524-0150.