Evaluation 2014 Poster Students advocating for their rights often face a wall of barriers including terrible stereotypes (London, Zimmerman, & Erbstein, 2003; Fetterman, 2003) as well as lack of resources needed to make desired changes especially in underserved communities. Involving students in a participatory evaluation teaches them how to gain knowledge on sustaining resources in their community (Brunner & Guzman, 1989). A group of students in a Los Angeles high school noted a decline in quality of cafeteria food and wanted to improve facilities, choices, and presentation. The Volunteers of America, Los Angeles Evaluation Department provided training and support to students including survey development, data interpretation, and focus groups. With the additional backing, students were empowered with materials and data to support their concerns as well as represent the opinions of their peers. The students utilized the survey and focus group results to advocate for change in school cafeteria food policies. #AdvocacyandPolicyChange #MixedMethodsEvaluation #Collaborative,ParticipatoryandEmpowermentEval #YouthFocusedEvaluation #InternalEvaluation