Drinking and driving can have tragic consequences.Ashley Malakowsky lost her mother in a car accident where the other driver had been drinking. Ashley was two years old, and the event has pushed her to dedicate a large portion of her life to lobbying against drinking and driving, as well as underage drinking.

&uot;If it wasn’t for that, I probably wouldn’t have anything to do with it,&uot; she said.

Malakowsky, 16, is a sophomore at New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva High School. She explained that she is &uot;an average teenage girl,&uot; but her story is not so average, and her willingness to share it to prevent others from making the same mistake her mother’s killer did is testament to her dedication to her cause.

Malakowsky speaks to schools on the hazards of underage drinking and drinking and driving, and has been doing so for the last few years. Her grandmother, with whom she has lived since her mother’s death, is the state secretary for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Because of this, she has been very involved since a young age.

Youth in Action is another organization to which Malakowsky belongs. The group’s main focus is underage drinking, which she says is a gateway to drinking and driving.

The membership age for the group is 16, so Malakowsky joined right when she reached that age. She will be one of seven representatives from Minnesota to go to Washington D.C. this June to lobby on Capitol Hill on drinking issues.

&uot;I’m really excited to go,&uot; she said. She said she hopes that some federal laws can be changed to bring down drinking and driving numbers as well as the percentage of teen drinking.

Lobbying is nothing new to Malakowsky. She worked at the St. Paul Capitol offices last year to keep wine out of grocery stores and get a dime-a-drink tax passed. The first effort succeeded and the latter didn’t, but she hopes it will in the future.

Malakowsky has learned from her efforts, and thinks each one is worth the time.

&uot;It makes me feel really good,&uot; she said about the laws she’s lobbied for that have gone into effect. &uot;I feel like I’ve made a difference … I just feel if it affects one person, it’s worth the work.&uot;

Malawosky’s group lobbying assignment in D.C. this year will focus on getting a national law against liquor in grocery stores. She said she feels strongly about the law because it cuts out one way for underage drinkers to get their hands on alcohol.

&uot;I just want to get the message out,&uot; she said. &uot;One bad decision can change everybody’s lives.&uot;