Prevention specialist Diane Ash arrived at Lawrence High in August 1991, facing a daunting task. She had to create a culture—a culture in which high school students could openly discuss problems ranging from drugs and alcohol to bullying and relationships.

   The first few years were difficult for Ash. There were plenty of drug-free students. That was not the problem. The problem was getting those students to open up. In those days, a successful FYI club meeting might draw five students, but even those students shied away from open discussions.

   “There were students who didn’t use, but they weren’t comfortable talking about it,” Ash said. “There wasn’t the same climate as there is now.”

   Today, that climate supports Ash’s FYI Club, its myriad panels and the 100 or so students who frequent

the meetings.

   A lot has changed in Ash’s tenure at Lawrence High, but one thing has remained the same, the mission: giving students a chance to discuss the issues that are most important to them.

   For nearly two decades, Ash’s story has been a success, but it may be entering its final chapter.

   On March 9, the school board cut the prevention programs at both high schools, and Ash’s job is in jeopardy. But as Ash keeps repeating, “that doesn’t mean

it’s over.”

   Through the Douglas County Citizens Committee on Alcoholism (DCCCA) and the district, Ash and her Free State counterpart, Peggy Nelson, have applied for three grants that may keep the programs going for another year.

   The odds at success are slim, but the stakes are high, and Ash and her students are not about to give up.

   “People who give up easily don’t go into prevention,” Ash said. “If I’m not back in August, it won’t be because we didn’t pull out all the stops.”

   The students have rallied to Ash’s side.

   Last May, Ash was in a similar predicament. The school board was seriously entertaining cutting the prevention programs, but a vast student movement persuaded the district otherwise.

   There was little students could have done during this year’s budget cuts, but it was not for lack of enthusiasm or effort.

   “I think it’s terrible,” senior FYI Club Co-President Haley Harwood said. “She provides so much energy and support for the students that are open to it. She has changed a lot of people’s lives in positive ways.”

   Harwood’s sentiments are the norm among FYI Club members. Ash is to many, the fairy godmother of Lawrence High, always around to lend a sage bit of wisdom or an understanding audience.

   If Ash cannot return next year, she will be more than missed. She will be mourned.

    “It makes me so sad to think about how she might not be here, giving a helping hand wherever necessary,” senior FYI Club Co-President Derrick Weishaar said. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with her all three years of my high school career and my involvement with Mrs. Ash and FYI has been an extremely important part of it. LHS simply won’t be the same without her.”

   Ash and her students are certainly keeping hope alive for next year, but the impending threat of an Ash-less Lawrence High is all too real. As of June 1, she will be out of her job. Whether she can regain her post depends entirely on the grants.

   However, from Ash’s perspective, the greatest fear of all deals not with job security, but with a possible relapse of the student environment. She worries the culture within the student body may return to its 1991 form, one of general standoffishness regarding open discussions about

teen issues.

   “I’m afraid that it will revert,” Ash said. “I don’t know how it could not. The thought of that is just so sad.”

   Despite the fear for the future, despite the fact that she may be entering her final month at Lawrence High School and despite all the uncertainty that comes along with that, Ash has a lot to be proud of.

   The high school has undergone a remarkable change during her 19 year tenure. She has ushered in an attitudinal shift within the student body. The general mindset has shifted from one of guarded indifference to one of candid expression.

   In the process, she has created a community at Lawrence High—a community as vibrant today as ever before.

   “We’ve had the most amazing year,” Ash said. “If the program had to go out, there couldn’t be a better year to leave in my memory. If we have to end, we couldn’t end on a higher note, but hopefully this isn’t the last song.”