2020 Rogers Scholar Spencer Hays organizes anti-bullying campaign

2020 Rogers Scholar and Corbin High School student Spencer Hays, right, and Ashton Noyes practice martial arts. Spencer partnered with community leader, Jeremy Patton of United Martial Arts, to develop a social media anti-bullying campaign for males and females, ages 5-18, in Laurel, Knox, and Whitley counties. The goal was to demonstrate ways to combat bullying while teaching morals to children and teens. During the course of the nine-month project, he was able to reach 1,700 people with nearly 25 social media anti-bullying posts. “This project means a lot to me because I was once an uncoordinated, chubby kid. I was shy and bullied into doing things I didn’t want to do. United Marital Arts gave me a place to be myself, and once I learned self-defense, that confidence bled over into other places, such as school. Bullying is awful and by campaigning on social media, I can give everyone the same confidence I have against bullies.” Each graduate of The Center for Rural Development’s Rogers Scholars program is required to complete a community service project. For more information about Rogers Scholars, visit www.centeryouthprograms.com