Megan Lee of Watkins Mill High School and Kairo Maysonet Walker of Julius West Middle School were the top winners in their respective categories in this year’s “Keeping it Safe Coalition” student video contest sponsored by Montgomery County Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) and the Montgomery County Police Department. The annual contest encourages student teams to create 30-second public service announcements about the risks of under-21 alcohol use.
According to MCPS, the winning entries won cash prizes for their schools. In this year’s contest, 59 videos were submitted from 31 schools. Founded in 1992, the Keeping It Safe Coalition (KIS) is an alliance of county departments, local organizations and residents that work to deter underage alcohol access and use. The KIS Coalition announced the winners at an awards ceremony on May 8 at Carver Educational Services Center in Rockville.
“Raising awareness about the dangers and consequences of under-21 alcohol consumption among students is an important endeavor,” said the county’s Alcohol Beverage Service director Kathie Durbin. “These videos help young people learn how to fight peer pressure when it comes to alcohol consumption and ways to support friends who have an alcohol problem.” This year’s high school award winners were:
- First Place–Megan Lee from Watkins Mill High School, who will receive a $1,000 prize.
- Second Place–Asher Anantham and Alana Anantham from Montgomery Blair High School, with help from Julius West Middle School. They will receive a $500 prize.
- Third Place–Anjolaoluwa Adeleke from Walter Johnson High School, who will receive a $350 prize.
- Honorable Mention—John F. Kennedy High School. Will receive a $100 prize.
This year’s middle school award winners were:
- First Place–Kairo Maysonet Walker from Julius West Middle School, who will receive a $500 prize.
- Second Place—Shady Grove Middle School. Will receive a $300 prize.
- Third Place—Cabin John Middle School. Will receive a $250 prize.
- Honorable Mention–Ariel Callwood and Aylani Callwood from William H. Farquhar Middle School, who will receive a $100 prize.
For the third year in a row, Travel Television sponsored the “most popular video” award. The award recognized the video with the most online views and “likes.” The Most Popular video for high school and middle school winners were Ariel and Aylani Callwood from William H. Farquhar Middle School. As winners, they will receive a $150 prize. The winning videos can be viewed on the ABS website. Check out the photo gallery.