Video contest encourages students to ‘Take Care of Texas’

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Haley Medeiros

Sixth-grade student Tyler Medeiros looks at the Take Care of Texas website. The deadline for video submissions is Dec. 14. “In my opinion it is important for teens to care about the environment,” sophomore Kayli Cook said. “There’s a whole lot of teens in the area, and they should know how to keep the environment clean.”

Haley Medeiros, Reporter

Sixth-grade students through high school seniors can enter the “Take Care of Texas” video contest until Friday, Dec. 14.

Before judges choose first-, second- and third-place winners, the public can vote on the top 12 videos, beginning Jan. 10 at 8 a.m. Public voting will end on Jan. 24 at 4 p.m.

“In my opinion, it is important for teens to care about the environment,” sophomore Kayli Cook said. “There’s a whole lot of teens in the area, and they should know how to keep the environment clean.”

The contest, sponsored by Waste Management of Texas, will provide scholarship money ranging from $500 to $2,500 for high school winners. Middle school winners will receive a GoPro HERO6.

“I like to do a lot of stuff with computers and videos,” sixth-grade student Tyler Medeiros said. “This is a good way to persuade people to help Texas, too.”

According to the Official Contest Rules, videos can’t be more than 30 seconds long, and each contestant can enter only one video. 

“A lot of people are interested in video-making, or they have different passions that have to do with computers,” Medeiros said. “This is good because students will want to participate.”

Students can see previous high school and middle school winners on the Take Care of Texas website

“Ways students can take care of the environment is to recycle and not litter,” Cook said. “I think we all need to start getting into that habit.”

According to Take Care of Texas website, first-place winners will be recognized at the “Environmental Trade Fair and Conference” in Austin.

“I believe we all have a part to play to take care of the environment, whether it be through recycling, or picking up trash,” district communications specialist Christal Hankey said. “This type of contest provides students a fun way to think more about how they can help the environment and then create a video to portray their findings.”

Students can learn more about the program and read the rules for submission at http://takecareoftexas.org/teens/video-contest.

“One of the pillars of the ‘Graduate Profile’ is Community Involvement,” Hankey said. “If we all take care of the environment it makes it a better place for us to live and future generations.”