2018 Middle School Winners

Ayush Iyer is an eighth grader at Manheim Township Middle School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He heard about the contest from his Excel (gifted) teacher and created his video as an independent project outside of his school work. Ayush chose Feeding 10 Billion as the subject of his video because he cares deeply about global hunger, and says if he “could solve one world problem, that would be it.” He’s written multiple essays, research papers, and presentations on the subject before he entered the World of 7 Billion contest. Ayush was aware of population and its impacts, but says that his research for the video made him think more deeply about the future implications for people, the planet, and the demands on our food systems.

Ayush is also a passionate advocate for vegetarianism. He’s raised awareness about the ecological benefits of switching to a plant-based diet by making speeches and producing films for his fellow students. Ayush likes using PowToon and other animation styles to create his videos. His advice for future contest participants is, “be passionate about the video you are making, and don’t worry about winning.” The hardest part of the contest for Ayush was condensing everything into one minute when there were so many ideas and concepts he wanted to cover in the video.

Beyond his filmmaking and academics, Ayush stays busy pursuing a host of interests. He is quite a well-rounded musician, he sings and plays piano, saxophone, and the Tabla (an Indian percussion instrument). Music is more than a hobby for Ayush, and he feels strongly that it “has the power to open the mind and fill you with emotions.” As a Boy Scout, Ayush enjoys being close to nature and engaging in outdoor activities like biking, hiking and camping.