Issaquah High School sophomore, Hannah Balducci, was the grand prize winner in the “Influence the Choice” video competition.
The winners were announced Tuesday evening, April 2, at Tibbets Creek Manor, with the grand prize of $800 going to the IHS student.
Inspired by the fact that every student is subject to peer pressure, the Issaquah Community Network and its sub-committee, the Drug Free Community Coalition, launched the competition for middle and high school students last November. Students were challenged to create a 30-second to two-minute public service announcement to influence their peers not to use alcohol or drugs.
A seven-member panel of judges viewed 51 submissions; 42 from high school students, six from middle school students and three from origins unknown — which brought laughter to the audience assembled to view the top videos. A total of 137 students participated, with the winners all coming from IHS, Skyline High School and Liberty High School.
The contest was divided into three categories: Most influential alcohol video, most influential marijuana video, most influential prescription drug video and the grand prize winner. The competition was the brainchild of co-chairs Dianna Bugge and Caryn Cissna. Several students thanked Buddy Bland, the iVision teacher at IHS and Bob Palmer, the video production teacher at Skyline. Bland’s video production class created a promotional video for the contest.
What makes Balducci’s win so extraordinary is that she is not in a video production class, and she made her video entirely by herself, whereas many of the entries were done by teams. Balducci used a camera on a tripod, she narrates the video, edited it and even appears in it with one other actor. It’s no wonder, since she paints, draws, writes and enjoys still photography in addition to making videos. She plans to major in psychology and minor in art in college.
Her video, the judges said, “Was creative, unique and effective,” delivering a positive message that grabbed your attention. The judges also found it informative. Balducci’s $800 grand prize included $500 from the Rotary Club of Issaquah and $300 from the Drug Free Community Coalition.
The first place alcohol video was won by Jonathan Ryder of IHS, which depicted boys drinking, with one leaving the party, getting into his car. It is assumed he hits a pedestrian and kills him. Ryder was awarded $100. For the most influential marijuana video, first place went to Tucker Russell and Jeremy Millar from Skyline High School who were awarded $100. In the prescription drug category, the winning video was by Ashton Herrild of Liberty High who won $100 for his video that sends the message “You’re the only one that matters.”
The Drug Free Community Coalition provided all of the other cash prizes with the exception of the $500 from the Rotary Club.
To view Balducci’s winning video go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIFCxsx7eXs
