SOMS students win cash prize in international video contest

WASHINGTON, D.C. — William Griffith and Daisy Andrejco, seventh-graders at South Orange Middle School, took second place and were awarded $250 for a video they created on deforestation for the “World of 7 Billion” international student video contest sponsored by Population Connection.

William and Daisy, who are taking a global issues class, chose deforestation as the topic for their video because it hits home. Their video, “Habitat Loss in the Rainforest,” was inspired by South Orange due to its proximity to the South Mountain Reservation.

“We both consider ourselves environmentalists and like animals,” they said in a release.

The pair had some background knowledge of population growth by way of a visual class demonstration on birth and death rates but had to conduct research to learn more. They gathered information from many websites and used stop-motion animation to create their video. Even though they had to repeat many steps to get their desired audio and video quality, the team stressed how much fun they had creating the video.

William and Daisy are both active in the arts. William likes to sing and act. He has been in the school play for two years. Daisy plays the violin in the school orchestra. They aren’t sure what they’ll do with the prize money just yet, but William and Daisy agree that half of it will be donated.

To view the winning videos and student bios, visit www.worldof7billion.org/student-video-contest/2016-winners/.

  South Orange Middle School