2026 High School Winners

Kathy Yang is an 11th grader at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South in West Windsor, New Jersey. She believed the contest was the perfect fit for her because it blends her passions of video-making and climate science. She specifically chose to create a video about geothermal energy after learning about the different types of renewable energy in her environmental science class and speaking with a worker from Geothermal Rising.

While Kathy knew about population growth and its direct connection to increased energy demand, she realized that many students do not take classes related to environmental energy. She was surprised to learn that geothermal energy requires little land. She also learned that fossil fuel use harms the lives of millions of people. With these findings, and knowing that the impact of energy is a growing topic, she was ready to create her video.

To make her video, Kathy was inspired by previous winners who created their own drawings. She decided to make a rap song with a catchy beat because “songs are impactful, attention-grabbing, and really stick.” She specifically used her metronome and experimented with different beats to achieve perfect timing in one minute. She then used iMovie to edit the entire video.

Kathy has participated in video contests in the past, including her middle school’s National History Day event, where she covered topics including the Montreal Protocol and the Love Canal Tragedy. She created these as historical documentaries and advanced several rounds! She also has a YouTube channel where she interviews environmental experts about different issues. Outside of video-making, Kathy is part of her school’s Science Olympiad and leads the Earth Science team. She also loves photography, singing, and playing the piano. After high school, she plans to continue her passions by majoring in geology and minoring in science communications. Kathy would love to work as a researcher or scientist for NOAA or NASA.