Phone contest
Dena Shao of Wootton High School in Rockville was the grand prize individual winner as the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) announced the winners of its “Heads Up, Phones Down” student video contest.
The Grand Prize Winner was Dena Shao, Thomas Wootton High School. Screen shots from her winning video are shown here. See the powerful video at bit.ly/3I1xLdk
The Clarksburg High School team of Aniket Belur, Mohit Belur, Ryan Ngo and Agustin Saldana was the group grand prize winner The contest, which asked students to produce videos encouraging peers to not allow cell phones to distract them while driving and walking, received more than 170 entries.
The contest was open to Montgomery County public and private high school students. Video entries were submitted individually or as a group of up to four in English or Spanish.
A team from the MCDOT Safe Routes to School office visited the schools of the grand prize winners on Friday, March 11, to surprise the creators of the top entries with prizes, balloons and fanfare.
“These teens have produced some powerful videos that will help us eliminate distracted driving and increase pedestrian safety,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “Often the best messaging is peer-to-peer. These videos will help grow a culture shift of awareness and responsibility.”
First runner up in the contest was Elias Bernstein, Winston Churchill High School. Video Link: bit.ly/3pYFT8b
A grand prize and first and second runner-up prizes were awarded in the group and individual categories. Winning group submissions split the grand prize with gift cards for each member. Individual submission winners qualified for prizes including a PlayStation Five, an Apple Watch or tripod.
The contest winners, with links to their winning videos:
Individual Category:
Grand Prize Winner:
Dena Shao, Thomas Wootton High School.
Video Link: bit.ly/3I1xLdkFirst Runner Up:
Elias Bernstein, Winston Churchill High School.
Video Link: bit.ly/3pYFT8bSecond Runner Up:
Hailie Clarke, Montgomery County Virtual Academy (Home school: Northwood High School).
Video Link: bit.ly/3MCMM8W
Group Category:
Grand Prize Winners:
Aniket Belur, Mohit Belur, Ryan Ngo, Agustin Saldana, Clarksburg High School.
Video Link: bit.ly/3t1AejOFirst Runner Up:
Nicholas Bourg, Julian Ekernas, Alexander Risso. Montgomery Blair High School.
Video Link: bit.ly/3pUv47bSecond Runner Up:
Anvika Deva, Sailaja Kadali, Akshya Mahadevan, Riona Sheikh. Richard Montgomery High School.
Video Link: bit.ly/3wdk5tF