RAPID CITY, SD – The Central High School east parking lot was busy with emergency vehicles, emergency personnel and hundreds of freshman Tuesday for the annual Freshman Impact: Caught in the Moment prevention program.

About 1,000 freshmen from Central and Stevens high schools will take part in the event that will be held over the course of two days at Central and Wednesday at the South Dakota National Guard Armory on Range Road.

Freshmen Impact is an interactive learning program with realistic scenarios giving freshmen tools to navigate the challenges presented by drinking and driving, texting and driving, teenage suicide, teen dating violence, trafficking, internet and more.

Rick McPherson, Executive Director and founder of Freshman Impact, far right, watches over the day’s events.

The idea is simple – give students practical tools to make safer, healthier choices to protect themselves and others.

“It has grown to internet issues, teen suicides, dating, you name it, anything a freshman student faces when they come into the freshman grade,” said program founder Rick McPherson. “You name it, we’ll try to bring it to the school and put on a program to address those needs.”

McPherson is a 33-year veteran of law enforcement and retired as a Pennington County Sheriff’s Deputy in 2017. During his time in law enforcement, he saw a lot of troubled youth, too many. He said a defense attorney friend of his said he needed to quit being reactive and go proactive. So, he did, creating what became known as Freshman Impact.

“I just got tired of seeing kids and picking kids up off the streets,” McPherson said. “I started in Wall and there were a lot of things going on that shouldn’t have been going on.”

For McPherson, in 2005 the program started to come together (then known as Tri County Alcohol Awareness) and a year later it was it was offered in the city of Wall. Sixty-seven students attended the first year.

Today, the program is offered throughout the majority of South Dakota.

“The impact has been tremendous,” McPherson said of his more than a decade of reaching out to youth. “If I save one life, just one, that’s well worth it to me.”

It’s a well-received program, the two-day event brings together local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, attorneys, judges, and other first responders to give students a hands-on look at the real-life consequences of destructive decisions.

During the day, students participate in learning stations like impaired-driving demonstrations using Fatal Vision goggles, a mock accident-response scenarios featuring first responders and life-flight operations, and social media safety risks, youth leadership, and team-building activities.

“Freshman Impact is to show them what it’s like out there and to keep them safe in the community,” Jessica Zisa, Assistant Principal, Freshman Academy, said.

Zisa said she has worked with this age group for about four years and giving them the option to attend this day long program now makes sense.

“It’s probably a good time to teach it to them now before they make those bad choices,” she said. “Or students who have been involved in this or have had friends involved, it will help them give knowledge to others about it.”